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12 - Seeking Immortality: Dictators and Their Progeny

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2014

Jerrold M. Post
Jerrold M. Post
Affiliation:
George Washington University, Washington DC
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Summary

In this chapter, the manner in which narcissistic dictators seek to continue their legacy and secure their place in history by passing on the baton of power to the next generation is considered. Two examples will be reviewed: Saddam Hussein and his sons Uday and Qusay, and Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-il’s son, Kim Jong-eun.

SADDAM HUSSEIN AND HIS BOYS, UDAY AND QUSAY: THE FAMILY THAT SLAYS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER

Saddam Hussein was not a typical soccer dad. Although he considered himself a great sportsman, rather than take his sons to sports events, starting at age ten, he took his sons to witness torture sessions, apparently imbued with what I consider one of his maxims, “the family that slays together stays together.” Thus, from early on, Saddam was preparing his sons to succeed him and was demonstrating the techniques for maintaining a rule of terror and total control. And he was teaching them that there were no limits to the violence they could administer, that they were special and need not fear retribution.

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Type
Chapter
Information
Narcissism and Politics
Dreams of Glory
 , pp. 182 - 195
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

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References

Post, Jerrold (ed.), The Psychological Assessment of Political Leaders, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press (2003)CrossRef
Post, Jerrold, Leaders and Their Followers in a Dangerous World, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004Google Scholar
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Eya, Osamu, Great Illustrated Book of Kim Jong Il, trans. in FBIS document KPP 2002 0501000062 (Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000)Google Scholar
Smith, Jeffrey R., “N. Korean Strongman: ‘Crazy’ or Canny?,” The Washington Post, September 26, 1993,
Natsios, Andrew, The Great North Korean Famine: Famine, Politics, and Foreign Policy (Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace, 2001)Google Scholar
Brooke, James, “N. Koreans Talk of Baby Killings,” The New York Times, June 10, 2002, Google Scholar
Chol, Kim Myong, “Kim Jong-il’s Military Strategy for Reunification,” Comparative Strategy 20, No. 4 (2001)CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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