Given the conflict with Iran, I’m curious about how a political leader’s style informs decisions. In particular, does a big ego correlate with going to war?
Barack Obama has a forceful personality, but also a high degree of self-regulation. Obama favors “listening carefully to people who know a lot more than I do about a topic and making sure that any dissenting voices are in the room at the same time.”1 He describes a process “consistent with the scientific method,” one that relies on empirical evidence. Thus, in 2013, Obama’s grasp of history deferred an attack on Syria in response to its use of chemical weapons. The former president avoided another “military quagmire in the Middle East,”2 negotiating the removal of Syria’s stockpile without firing a shot.
Decades earlier, Lyndon Johnson’s fiercely persuasive leadership style became known as the “Johnson Treatment,” which he used to push through programs such as the Civil Rights Act and Medicare.3 Johnson also pressured Congress to escalate the Vietnam War in 1964, influenced in part by “hawkish” advisors. But Johnson’s ego was also at stake. He feared being the first American president to “lose a war.” The war continued for more than a decade.
A study by political scientist John P. Harden in the Journal of Conflict Resolution examined 19 U.S. presidents and found that presidential ego plays a significant role in decisions to go to war and in how long conflicts last. Ego-driven presidents “tend to only exit wars if they can say they won, and they will extend wars to find a way to declare some kind of victory.”4
We see evidence of this in President Trump’s autocratic decision-making, first attacking Iran without Congressional approval and later making dubious claims of victory—a distortion of reality or “gaslighting” that ego-centric leaders use to maintain control and a sense of superiority.5 He seems to be driven primarily by a yen for praise and power.
President Trump exhibits a range of behaviors associated with narcissism. Studies at Stanford Graduate Business School identify narcissistic leaders by attributes such as ignoring expert advice, scapegoating subordinates, demanding personal loyalty, targeting those who challenge their authority, and continually moving the goalposts (a tactic seen throughout the Iran conflict). Unfortunately, extreme self-interest may lead to destructive decision-making and “changing the countries or companies they lead,” in negative ways that can “outlast their tenure.”6
- x.com/Emmett_Voss/status/2041901457692356858?s=43&t=e2gg_mw9oHxSyIF8_3iq2A
- bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38297343
- forbes.com/sites/johncoleman/2018/07/30/the-johnson-treatment-pushing-and-persuading-like-lbj/
- sciencealert.com/theres-an-intriguing-link-between-us-presidents-and-the-wars-they-wage
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/gaslighting
- gsb.stanford.edu/insights/how-narcissistic-leaders-destroy-within