The Social Identity Approach to Leadership: The Case of Alberta
Abstract
The study of political leadership within the discipline of the political science has recently grown into a large, complex, and insightful literature. However, the extensive number of concepts, theories, and frameworks developed by international leadership scholars have been underutilized when it comes to developing further understanding of political leadership in the Canadian context. This thesis attempts to address this gap by focusing on the process by which individuals are selected to be leaders. I utilizes social psychology and Identity Leadership Theory to theorize that leaders are successful to the extent that are able to cohere with broader group processes by articulating group characteristics, establishing individual prototypicality, and entrenching their policy agenda in pre-existing collective identities and understandings. The study develops and examines a concise causal relationship and hypotheses through a case study of the Albertan provincial context. This comprises analyses of two premiers, William Aberhart and Peter Lougheed, that utilize a set of primary communicative sources to examine the substantive components of their successful leadership appeal. Overall, this thesis’s findings suggest that these leaders were successful despite not meeting the expectations of the analysis’s hypotheses. Consequently, it is concluded that Identity Leadership Theory is not an accurate or useful means by which to understand political leadership in Canada.