Narcissistic Sociopathy in Global Autocratic Leaders: Arrested Development, Obsessive Demand for Power, and the Emergence of Unlawful Hybrid Wars

Abstract

There are several reasons why war occurs. The most lethal wars are those caused by 1 man’s decisions solely driven by an obsessive need for power. With disregard for International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention, these wars, referred to as hybrid warfare, purposefully target civilians directly resulting in millions of deaths, injuries, mass migration, and other severe global and public health consequences. The purpose of this commentary is to investigate the developmental nature of those decision-makers and the consequences of their acts of aggression both locally and globally. There is a clear relationship between the psychological developments of individuals with narcissistic and psychopathological disorders and the implications of an abnormal progression of these individuals and their obsessive desire for singular leadership, which seriously impacts health-care security and its essential elements provided by international humanitarian law and Geneva Convention. Current double standards of the West allow narcissistic sociopaths and autocratic leaders to neglect international law, especially the so-called international humanitarian law. This double standard must be ceased and replaced by an international investigative system with universal standards, a special tribunal covering hybrid war crimes as well as the crime of aggression, and to prevent future leaders from choosing the same strategies.

Sociopathic narcissistic leadership: How about their victims?

“…Moreover, they learn to establish both age‐appropriate neurologically and socially beneficial developmental tasks, resulting in a healthy curiosity; critical reflection; perception; sound judgment; and foundations of ethics, morality, and empathy. A lack of such development may result in the development of narcissism, deteriorated ego, and immaturity in a certain portion of the young population (Burkle, 2016; Khorram‐Manesh & Burkle, 2022a; Rogoza et al, 2021; Zeigler‐Hill & Marcus, 2016). However, the symptomatology is often too vague, and one may only know of their presence later in life as a subset of the population who are driven to seek the ultimate opportunity to control, dictate, and live out their fantasies of power on the world stage as adults.…”

“…Once they have achieved dominance, these power holders feel universally threatened and compelled to destroy democratic thought and freedoms. Many people are unable to understand how and why this need to break down the democratic system arises (Burkle, 2016(Burkle, , 2019Khorram-Manesh & Burkle, 2022a).…”

“…However, the symptomatology is often too vague, and one may only know of their presence later in life as a subset of the population who are driven to seek the ultimate opportunity to control, dictate, and live out their fantasies of power on the world stage as adults. They may first be seen as someone who bullies other youngsters at schools and in social gatherings, with their behavior often becoming more evident later at universities or in the workplace (Khorram-Manesh & Burkle, 2022a). Their attempt to control others, whether they be individuals or leaders of countries who challenge them, almost always culminates in some degree of violence.…”

“…The American Psychological Association (APA) defines narcissism as “excessive self‐love or egocentrism” (American Psychological Association APA, 2023). Narcissism, seen in upwards of 10% of the American public, is diagnosed in individuals who seek more attention and admiration and who display an unreasonably high sense of self‐importance (Khorram‐Manesh & Burkle, 2022a; Post, 2015). Over 75% of those diagnosed are men (Green et al, 2022).…”

“…Narcissism is part of normal development in childhood and adolescence and develops into “healthy narcissism” in individuals with a supportive home and social life, for example, academicians (Post, 2015; Yakeley, 2018). However, the lack of support and educational resources may result in abnormal development, which may continue to dominate one's personality development into adulthood, resulting in the pathological variant of narcissism, that is, “narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)” (Khorram‐Manesh & Burkle, 2022a). Narcissism, as a personality trait, is so frequent that there have been attempts to eliminate NPD from the revised version of the APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders because it was rapidly becoming “the new normal” (Post, 2015).…”