More than a Number: Aging Leaders in International Politics.

This article examines how perceptions of leader age, particularly "perceived agedness" shaped by face-to-face diplomatic encounters, influence international political behavior, focusing on whether foreign states choose to engage or bypass elderly leaders. Drawing on gerontological insights about age-related stereotypes, the authors analyze declassified U.S. documents on Cold War-era Asian leaders Syngman Rhee, Mao Tse-tung, and Chou Enlai, showing that American appraisals of these leaders' mental and physical vigor during personal meetings significantly affected judgments of their agency and subsequent diplomatic strategies. The study finds that chronological age alone does not determine these outcomes; rather, leaders who displayed signs of senility were more likely to be bypassed, while those who appeared mentally alert and physically capable were engaged despite advanced age. The article highlights the importance of subjective perceptions in international relations and suggests that face-to-face interactions critically shape how aging leaders are treated in high-stakes diplomacy.