The shape of a leader’s face might predict their likelihood of starting a war
A sweeping new study of world leaders spanning six decades finds that those with wider facial proportions are slightly more likely to initiate military action, particularly during their first few years in office.
A new study suggests that the shape of a world leader's face may predict their likelihood of starting a war. Leaders with wider facial proportions, specifically a higher facial width-to-height ratio, tend to be more prone to initiating international military conflicts, particularly during their first years in power. This finding challenges traditional political science theories that focus on economic power and strategic rivalries as primary drivers of war.
The research, published in Politics and the Life Sciences, analyzed the facial width-to-height ratio of over a thousand world leaders from 174 countries over a 63-year period, from 1947 to 2010. The study found that leaders with higher facial width-to-height ratios were three times more likely to initiate conflicts in their first year of leadership.
While broader facial features may signal dominance and physical strength in ancestral environments, the study highlights that individual leaders' qualities should also be considered when analyzing international conflict.
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