One man's wickedness : malignant narcissism and major blunders in international relations

Abstract

Malignant narcissism is a personality syndrome marked by hubris, paranoia, and reckless indifference to the human consequences of decisions. Malignant-narcissistic leaders tend to commit major blunders in international relations. Examples include Saddam, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao, and Nasser. Seventeen hypotheses are presented on malignant narcissism, exploring its relationships to cognition, domestic political systems, and blunders in international relations. The hypotheses are illustrated with historical examples to support their plausibility. Saddam is explained as a malignant narcissist who was especially prone to blunders throughout his political career.