Ofir Hauzman, " 'Sinwar isn't a psychopath, but a cunning narcissist' " https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/hyw00ksu00a

The interview stresses the difference between full-fledged psychopathy and malignant narcissism (which borders on psychopathy). Sinwar, Yassin, and other leaders of terrorist groups are capable of impulse control, delay of gratification, and utter brutality in following thgeir goals. If they were psychopaths, they wouldn't be able to run such highly effecitive organisations.

Also important is the emphsis of "secondary psychopathy", i.e., that children raised in organised crime familes and terrorist circles often learn those values and even adopt imitations of such psychopthic behaviour although they may not clinically be malignant narcissists or borderline psychopaths.

To me this latter reminder is important as it seems to confirm a bit a thought I was having on authoritarian societies, be it Nazi-Germany, Russia, or Gaza: That there is no significant distinction between populace and regime, esp. not the one typcially made (and used as exculpation) between terrorist regime and suffering but innocent poplace. (I admit that by that I cannot explain the existence of the obvious resistance movement in Iran.)

#sources #authoritarianism