Pak Sahafat – According to the results of a documentary research in the United States in the analysis of the relationship between the personality traits and the level of warmongering of the 19 American presidents between 1897 and 2009, there is a direct and significant relationship between the level of narcissism and warmongering of the residents of the White House.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency’s report from the Spanish-language Sputnik website, “John P. Harden, an American political science expert, analyzed the personality of 19 American presidents who were in office between 1897 and 2009 (from William McKinley to George W. Bush) and found a significant relationship between the personality traits of the head of state during their tenure and he identified the length of the wars that were responsible for their occurrence. This research shows a direct relationship between the level of narcissism and belligerence.
John P. Harden used data extracted from the Correlates of War database and information on wars that killed at least 1,000 people over the course of a year to analyze his report. Considering these features, 11 war operations were recorded by the US during the studied period.
Based on the findings of this study published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution, high levels of decisiveness and excitement seeking and low levels of humility, compliance and openness have been investigated to measure the narcissistic tendencies of people.
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According to the results of this study, America’s most narcissistic presidents only get out of wars if they can say they won. In this way, these leaders drag out wars until they find a way to declare some sort of victory. According to the Ohio University political scientist, they want to appear heroic, strong and competent, even if it means fighting more than is reasonable.
According to this research, eight American presidents, including Lyndon B. Johnson and Franklin D. Roosevelt tops them, with above-average narcissism scores, spending an average of 613 days at war. In contrast, the 11 presidents who showed lower levels of narcissism were at war for an average of 136 days. McKinley and Howard Taft were the least narcissistic.
Presidents such as Roosevelt and Nixon, who ranked higher in narcissism, prioritized personal interests over government interests and continued conflicts for longer periods of time. On the other hand, those American presidents such as McKinley and Eisenhower, who scored lower in narcissism, tended to prioritize American interests. Unlike war-mongering presidents, wars ended as quickly as possible during the era of this group of leaders.
This study shows that the relationship between the two components of narcissism and warmongering even after taking into account other factors, such as the political climate in the United States, the region in which the war is taking place, the balance of power between the warring parties, and whether the president himself is aware of the conditions of the war or not.
Harden notes: Narcissistic presidents spend more time worrying about their public image than other presidents. This political science expert believes: These motives, especially the desire to take care of one’s image in the eyes of public opinion, make wars last longer than necessary.