Leadership & Agent Political Capital: Predicting Success in Coalition Choice

Does accurate perception of political space impact the success of political agents while engaging in leadership tasks? We assume here that political agents strategise their political relations by considering perceived affiliations between others in political space. In a series of experiments we examine if two agents whom their group perceives as ‘friends’ are also assumed to be allies. In a series of decision simulations, we control for the acquisition of political capital, and measure affiliation, psychometric profiles and the cognitive social structure of agents during a series of quasi-experiments. The experimental evidence suggests an association between success at forming coalitions with extravert agents; while leadership is associate with Burt’s ‘idiocentric’ brokerage; and extraverts have high levels of political capital. By implication a political agent’s psychological predisposition reflects their position in political space, and their popularity their political resources.