Journal: Politics and Governance
Year: 2024

The study of political leadership has traditionally focused on leaders, often overlooking how followers actively shape legitimacy through attribution and contestation.In this thematic issue, the focus shifts from leaders to followership and legitimacy, examining how citizens construct and challenge political authority.The first set of articles explores the role of leadership attribution, populism, and negative personalisation, showing how charismatic appeal, ideological predispositions, social i