Leadership in The Walking Dead: Comparing the Governor, Negan and Rick

Leadership is one of the most prominent themes in The Walking Dead. We had a look at the leadership styles of three of the most important characters: the two main antagonists, the Governor and Negan, and the main protagonist, Rick Grimes.

Whether they are among the “good guys” or the “bad guys”, leaders in The Walking Dead have to face the same kind of issues.

What kind of leadership style is needed in a situation like the apocalypse? The institutions have collapsed. There is no police service anymore, and the whole army seems to have gone AWOL. How should survivors fill this void? Do they need a strong leader, or should they stick to a democratic way of functioning? Is the return to authoritarian leaders an inevitable consequence of the apocalypse?

How should a leader use violence? Is it possible to pursue ideals like non-violence, or even simply benevolence towards other groups, when “survival of the fittest” seems to be the rule?

Many people have already compared the Governor and Negan, as the two main “villains”. Many have also argued that Rick Grimes was actually not such a “good guy” – some, including showrunner Scott Gimple, have even claimed he was not really different from Negan.

It can be interesting to wonder which one makes a better leader, but this time, we’ll be more interested in analyzing how these characters function as leaders:

• What kind of leadership style do they favour?
• What is their relationship to violence?
• What is their attitude to outsiders?

As you will see, there are some similarities but also some major differences between these three key characters…