In the Shadow of the Strongman: Gender, and Family Ties in Charismatic Movements

• In Event: Gender Dynamics in National Political Leadership: Comparative Perspectives

Abstract

This paper advances a gendered theory of leadership succession in charismatic movements. It theorizes that, while men are more likely to rise as the founders of these movements, women related to the founder have a comparative advantage in contexts of succession for two reasons. First, because women are generally perceived as more complementary and less threatening, charismatic founders, who loathe sharing power, are more likely to anoint women than men as their successors. Second, women who possess a familial bond with the founder are uniquely well positioned to portray themselves as charismatic apostles devoted to channeling the beloved founder’s will and defending his heroic legacy. I show that women relatives who strategically perform as the founder’s mouthpiece are better able to tap into and claim the followers’ charismatic attachments for themselves. However, the personal authority of these women remains limited—especially when the founder remains alive and politically active. To evaluate the role of gender and family ties in charismatic succession, I turn to Latin America, a region that has a long history of charismatic leadership. A cross-national analysis demonstrates the greater frequency of men as charismatic founders and women as successors; subsequently, qualitative and experimental evidence from Peru illustrate how gender and family ties influence citizens’ perceptions of successors’ charismatic legitimacy.

Author

• Caitlin Andrews-Lee, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill