Benchmarking Brilliant Brains: The Psychological Profiling of World Leaders

The analysis of psychological profiling of world leaders, or for that matter, any individual, cannot be fulfilled without mentioning ‘The Father of Psychology’, Sigmund Freud. In 1932, in a letter from Albert Einstein to Sigmund Freud, under the title “Why War?” Einstein asked several crucial questions pertaining to the present world stratum. 

Illustration by The Geostrata

One of them is “Is it possible to control man's mental evolution to make him proof against the psychosis of hate and destructiveness?”

To which Freud replied, “The slaughter of a foe gratifies an instinctive craving, a point to which we shall revert hereafter. However, another consideration may be set off against this will to kill: the possibility of using an enemy for servile tasks if his spirit is broken and his life spared. Here, violence finds an outlet not in slaughter but in subjugation.”

PREVIEW

Sigmund Freud’s conclusion to war proclivities and in-built homo sapien tendencies roots from internal aggression and the psychoanalytic conflict of an individual, possibly someone who holds ample power to change the geopolitical dynamics, hence, a world leader. 

World leaders have been subjected to the respective analysis of their inner monologue and psychosis to comprehend (possibly, predict) their judgments, which affect many.

Could a childhood trauma or being stuck in a fixation state of psychosocial development, presumably, affect leaders and cloud their judgments? While every person's trauma experience is unique, the impact can vary dramatically. Some people may be more adaptable than others, and some might acquire coping skills that enable them to lead well despite their background. The effect of psychological conflict on metamorphosing a plausible leader is more common than one might think. 

THE BOY WHO CHASED RATS 

As we proceed towards analysing contemporary powers of the world, no one is a better model than a leader scrutinised for his pragmatic and remorseless demeanour, but in reality, he spent his time battling post-war poverty and food crisis; Vladimir Putin, a boy who grew up in Leningrad (post-war Soviet Union).

Putin’s childhood was shaped by trauma-ridden and absent parents, growing up in extreme poverty, and experiencing the broader generational trauma within the city and the country as a whole. This is evident in his policies that apply to the ‘Russian Everyman’ class. 

As said by Julia Ioffe, a Russian-American journalist in a podcast, “I think [Putin] sees himself as a leader of that stature. Stalin, Peter the Great, somebody who is going to shape Russia for decades to come, even after he's gone.”

Vladimir Putin’s isolationist coping mechanism forces his rationale to succumb to a deep, dark place. He abhors weakness, losing, and the idea of a ‘win-win’ situation seems difficult for him to envisage. So, even when Putin looks like an aggressor, and rightly so, he might be defensive. Quoting his exact words, he said, “The good must not always be frail and helpless. Good means being able to defend oneself.”

THE BOY WHO WAS A COMEDIAN

Flipping the coin to the other side, our next crucial world leader is Ukraine’s ‘messiah’, a heroic figure, defending his countrymen in their dignity and respect, Volodymyr Zelensky. 

Before the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, President Zelensky's trust rating was 37%. Afterwards, it rocketed to 90%.

It seems like a psychological play of the ‘Damsel-in-Distress’ phenomenon, where Zelensky has taken it upon himself, not as the President of Ukraine, but as the young Vlodymyr, in the popular comedy TV show KVN, “The Club of the Funny and Inventive”, coming face-to-face with on brand Russian Chauvinism.

As we end Mr. “Green’s” psychological profiling, a Ukrainian TV recently broadcast the audience’s opinions, “That was his main quality as a leader. He’d just say, ‘Let’s do it.’ Then we’d all get scared, and he would just tell us to trust him. All our lives, it was like that. And at some point, we just started to trust him, because when he said it would work out, it did.”

THE BOY WITH A BRASS SPOON

Revolving the point of the arrow towards the consistent Asian Superpower, China.

China’s Supreme Leader, Xi Jinping, is reportedly the most convoluted and multifaceted individual to analyse. He had a paradoxical childhood, evidenced by his privileged political background; one would assume he lacks perseverance and is isolated, given his dominant stature. Jinping’s teenage years consisted of getting arrested by the Red Guards and being threatened with execution.

Resonating with the masses becomes accessible when the leader shares a collective trauma, and is likely to develop tenacity as a result of a strong sense of purpose and a desire to win despite pain or failure that he or she has witnessed firsthand. I believe he is formidable and astounding in coupling that personal narrative of endurance with his wider narrative of China's rejuvenation, which has been tremendously successful.

THE BOY WHO SOLD TEA 

As we proceed towards the country that birthed the oldest civilisation, gave the world 25-30% of its wealth till the 17th century, and proudly claims to be the ‘World Teacher’. 

The leader behind the impeccable growth of India is Narendra Modi. He will be completing his third term as the Prime Minister in 2029.

His childhood adversities and a poor background were rather paraded by several political members, which led to the nickname, ‘Chaiwala’, i.e., a person who sells tea. This buildup formulates how his past job and a poverty-ridden background negatively affect his leadership(Prime Ministership) and decisions.

To understand and explain the transition of Modi’s personality from a boy who used to sell tea to becoming the 14th and current Prime Minister of India, the author, Indu Shekhar, uses the notions of the “soul self,” “role self,” and “goal self” in the “Personality System”.

His humble upbringing as the son of a chaiwallah, who would help out at his father's stall as a child, has become a sanctified part of Modi's populist narrative, helping to project him as incorruptible - in contrast to the elite, dynastic families that have dominated Indian politics for decades - whilst also giving him appeal among poorer, lower caste communities that had previously never voted BJP.

In the not-so-recent past, India used to be thought of as an impecunious country; this perception has been transformed into a multi-aligned “Vishwaguru” country, all under PM Modi’s leadership. 

While Modi’s “cult of a personality” is lauded by many and gave rise to cogitable and credible outcomes, it also falls victim to scrutiny and is the root cause of democratic backsliding and growing authoritarianism; of parasitic capitalism and growing disparities between rich and poor; of the erosion of media freedom and judicial independence.

No further explanation is required, as I quote Ambedkar, “For in India, Bhakti or what may be called the path of devotion or hero-worship, plays a part in its politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in the politics of any other country in the world. In politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.”

CONCLUSION

This certainly isn’t a recent approach or a discovery to psychologically comprehend political impetus; each individual who has ever been in a position leading the masses, from Alexander the Great to Mr. Narendra Modi, is under constant surveillance to decipher their inner monologue. While this article, or the deep psychosis of world leaders, does not aim to paint them in a ‘brighter’ light, or emphasising a hard childhood does not always guarantee a polished leader, but what actually does matter is awareness and healthy coping mechanisms.

In conclusion, we've observed that psychological profiling provides more than just a glimpse behind the facade of global power; it offers an outline for understanding acts and anticipating decisions. As the field evolves, its importance will only increase, directing not only our understanding of leaders but of leadership itself. 

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BY SAMRIDDHI KHALE

TEAM GEOSTRATA

info@thegeostrata.com