Global Security and Intelligence Studies Volume 3, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2018 | Página 15

Global Security and Intelligence Studies
years, the assembly, consolidation, and maintenance of his powerbase, and the
development of his cult of personality. Additionally, of importance in this study
is the development and cultivation of his medical interests, and manipulation of
this background to further gain a political edge and enhance his political strength.
This case reveals Duvalier’s innate ability to utilize the imagery associated with his
medical profession as a veil to his grim desires to “cure” the political ills of Haiti. In
addition to better understanding the doctor–dictator link, case studies help provide
insight into different diplomatic strategies for engaging with such leaders. For
example, paranoid individuals will be highly suspicious and will largely mistrust
others, so negotiated policies should include a certain degree of confidence-building
measures to help break through this kind of personal defense mechanism.
Likewise, malignant narcissism and sadism will also have an influence on how
individuals interpret and react to events. For these reasons, it is important to continue
delving into the behavior of past leaders to be better prepared for the future.
Doctators: Physicians as Political Dictators
The modern study of conditions that give rise to political dictators has an
assorted range that includes twentieth century psychoanalysts C.G. Jung
(1936) and Sigmund Freud (Stamps 1956) and extends to twenty-first century
political psychologist Fathali M. Moghaddam (2012, 2013). While numerous
conventional studies of dictators have focused upon the examination of societal
conditions and concurrent psychological traits of dictators as a homogenous
group, there remains a unique subset within the dictator population that have not
been extensively evaluated: political “doctators”—a play on words to represent
physicians who become political dictators. The “doctatorship” concept was first
coined by the journalist Simon Sebag Montefiore (1997, 17), who defined “the
process by which a medical doctor, devoted to sacrificing himself to save lives,
becomes a dictator, devoted to sacrificing lives to save himself.”
The power, status, and social position of physicians are distinct and elevated
compared to most professions. Unlike that of career politicians, “physicians are
considered—rightly or not—as persons responsible for the quality of our lives.
They are societal heroes ... By definition, a doctor is a person educated in a profession
that is compassionate to the poor and ill, and because of his education, (in
a prime position) to shape the national health and protection of their country”
(Lass et al. 2012, 642; author translation). 1 Coupled with this elevated social status,
they are also expected to uphold much higher societal expectations. Sawicki
(2011) explains that these standards hold true for physicians’ personal lives as well
1 “Lekarze są uważani - słusznie lub nie - za osoby odpowiedzialne za jakość naszego życia. Są
bohaterami społecznymi ... Z definicji lekarz to osoba wykształcona w zawodzie współczującym
dla biednych i chorych, a także ze względu na swoją edukację (w doskonałej pozycji),
która kształtuje krajową opiekę zdrowotną i ochronę swojego kraju.”
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