Theory, perception, and leadership agency: A multiple processing model of nationalist mobilization

Abstract

Multiple processes are at work as nationalist groups mobilize, but few researchers consider how the processes impinge on leaders despite the amount of attention paid to leadership by policy‐makers. This article demonstrates the utility of a model that focuses on leaders’ framing and manipulation of structural and situational factors often treated individually in extant work. Emphasis is on the conditions under which different explanations inform leaders’ own ‘definitions of the situation’ as they compete to persuade their audiences toward more inclusive or exclusive ends. Relating success and failure of different strategies contributes to understanding how external actors may alter those situational or structural factors to improve the chances that more inclusive nationalist ideas are promoted.