The world has experienced numerous and interesting characters as leaders of several countries. It is safe to say some had the best interests of their countries at heart, beyond occupying positions of the highest power and lording it over all the citizens of their countries. However, at one point or another, some citizens of some countries experienced leadership beyond their comprehension and expectations; there arose questions such as "She was never like that," "He never promised us war," "What happened? I didn’t vote for this," "He promised to focus on the country and only the country, not these." "She envisioned for us a country that has the interest of the people at heart; what happened to those visions?" etc. Even with the best publicists, speechwriters, make-up artists, coaches, etc., these leaders let slip their true personalities and intentions, but only for those who are laser-focused, those who pay rapt attention.

Psychopathy or charisma

The ability to stir the emotions of the populace is an art only few have. Even the mesmerized masses cannot explain the moving and electrifying effects of the speeches of some of these charismatic leaders on them. Starry-eyed, they are stunned speechless or incoherent with words such as "she is just something," "he touched me right here," etc. If they are asked to elaborate, they simply cannot. It is a gift very few have. To be fair to some of the masses, it is the seemingly human-centered or masses-centered economic policies that move them; to them, finally a messiah who cares for the unwashed has arrived. In Ghana, two leaders have had such effects on the people: the very first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who championed the people to independence and Jerry John Rawlings, who led a coup and later became the democratically elected president of Ghana.

This magnetism of leadership can be acquired through a thorough understanding of human psychology and manipulation that could have been developed from childhood or later in life. This is psychopathy, and psychopaths are people with the “… conning, manipulative …” personalities that can stir people to desired goals (Anderson & Kiehl 2014). This can be the definition of leadership as well. The difference, however, is that while leadership has the best interest of the people at heart, psychopaths have their own (the psychopaths’) best interests at heart.

Psychopaths have been grouped into two: the carefully manipulative and charming ones who cautiously orchestrate the paths to their final aim, and the impulsive ones who are reactionary and immediately reveal their intentions. Ergo Skeem et al (2007) classifies psychopaths into "primary psychopaths," who display "… lower anxiety, general poverty of emotional expression, and tend to commit crimes which are fundamentally instrumental in nature…," and "secondary psychopaths," who "… are more anxious, showing more emotional volatility, and commit more impulsive, reactionary crimes." (Anderson & Kiehl 2014)

Speeches that cue you in to these personalities

Psychopaths who have reached the highest echelons of society are "primary psychopaths," for they are those who have orchestrated their path to positions of influence that give them the power to, for example, decide the use of weapons of mass destruction.

With curated speeches such as these, which defend violence against and the massacre of the supposed other, one can identify people with psychopathic tendencies:

If men wish to live, then they are forced to kill others. The entire struggle for survival is a conquest of the means of existence, which in turn results in the elimination of others from these same sources of subsistence. As long as there are peoples on this earth, there will be nations against nations and they will be forced to protect their vital rights in the same way as the individual is forced to protect his rights.

One is either the hammer or the anvil. We confess that it is our purpose to prepare the German people again for the role of the hammer. We admit freely and openly that if our movement is victorious, we will be concerned day and night with the question of how to produce the armed forces, which are forbidden us by the peace treaty [Treaty of Versailles]. We solemnly confess that we consider everyone a scoundrel who does not try day and night to figure out a way to violate this treaty, for we have never recognized this treaty... We will take every step which strengthens our arms, which augments the number of our forces, and which increases the strength of our people. We confess further that we will dash anyone to pieces who should dare hinder us in this undertaking...Our rights will be protected only when the German Reich [country] is again supported by the point of the German dagger…

(Adolf Hitler's speech at Munich in 1929)

To justify the desire for violence and war, these leaders use theories of the “survival of the fittest” or some ancient story they do not really believe in.

Another example used to whip up the sentiments of an eagerly warring group is,

Remember what Amalek did to you... This is a war between the children of light and the children of darkness. We will not relent in our mission until the light overcomes the darkness; the good will defeat the extremist evil that threatens us and the entire world.

(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu via Anadolu Agency 2023)

Yet another provocative speech is

Discipline must be accepted. If it is not accepted, it must be imposed… At a given moment discipline must show itself under the form of a command or of an act of force.

(Biblioteca Fascista 2012)

Finding the right leaders

Thorough background research of potential leaders can steer the populace to the right leader. That is, every single aspect of a potential leader’s life, especially those that are likely to occupy positions such as governmental positions, who are likely to have in their control weapons of mass destruction, must be thoroughly brought to light. Thorough and honest background research of a potential leader can reveal what the publicist and coaches would be trying to hide. This demands honest and independent journalism, for the peaceful state of the world demands that the world should not be handed to psychopaths.

References

Anderson, E.N., & Kiehl, A.K. (2014). Psychopathy: Developmental Perspectives and their Implications for Treatment. PubMed. Central. National Library of Medicine.
Silva S., & Lindberg, S. — (November 7, 2024). What is psychopathy. Healthline.
Jim, H.June (6, 2020). 10 June 1940 Mussolini Speech Declaring War. Commando Supremo, Italy in WWII.
Shafir, H. (January 28, 2025). 20 Signs of a Psychopath: Traits & Characteristics. Choosing Therapy.
Speaking of Psychology: Why psychopathy is more common than you think, with Abigail Marsh, PhD, American Psychological Association.
Rise to power of Benito Mussolini, Britannica.
Hitler: Essential Background Information. College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History. University of Kentucky.
Hitler’s Speeches. University of North Carolina.