Global Security and Intelligence Studies Volume 3, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2018 | Page 28

A Psychological and Political Analysis of a Twentieth Century “Doctator”
“DDD” signage to position himself with God (Dieu), and Dessalines. Duvalier
viewed himself as being one with the state, and an attack on him was a direct attack
against the state of Haiti.
Duvalier perpetuated his reign of terror by having his enemies’ decapitated
heads brought to him, so he could confer with the dead regarding their plans. He
allegedly sought counsel from spirits and studied goat entrails (Johnson 2006).
“For the fourteen years he was in power, the people of Haiti were never certain he
had a soul, that he was a moral man” (Marquis 2007, 144). This use of the Voodoo
religion allowed Duvalier to conflate religious power with political power. For a
highly spiritual population, the people of Haiti had little choice but to accept Duvalier’s
leadership.
Conclusion: “A Nation’s Ills Demand a Doctor”
Duvalier retained his presidential status and power for 14 years. His education
and access to the rural population during his medical practice
placed him in a unique position to build a strong powerbase with the rural
peasantry. His study of Haitian history helped him to recognize and understand
the mistakes of his predecessors, especially regarding the role of the Army. By deflating
the influence of the Army, he surrounded himself with eager hand-picked
followers, who were rewarded by steady pay and the position of power. For those
followers who practiced Voodoo, Duvalier was revered as a Voodoo god and one
who could neither be crossed nor killed. Individuals who opposed Duvalier were
faced with fleeing to neighboring countries, seeking asylum in foreign embassies,
or experiencing extreme punishment or death.
Duvalier masterfully exploited the importance of his iconic image as a physician
with the power Voodoo-related beliefs held over the vast majority of his
constituency; he positioned himself to initially command high status and respect,
and then subsequently fear and terror. Two quotes from Papa Doc reflect this conscious
awareness of political strength, both domestically as a despotic ruler, and
internationally, when during his rule his status as a physician/dictator was unique
and admired among world leader peers: “A nation’s ills demand a doctor,” and
“A doctor must sometimes take a life to save it” (Montefiore 1997). Dr. François
Duvalier perceived himself and his power as an integral part of a radical political
cure, by way of terror and bloodshed, whose cost was justified in taking the lives of
30,000 Haitians during his Presidency (Metz 2001).
Papa Doc’s evolution from physician to despotic dictator is a remarkable,
but not unique, international political phenomenon. The current Syrian President,
Bashar Assad, an ophthalmologist, has created a “cult of personality” (Burke
2015), culminating in a devastating civil war with 465,000 Syrians dead or missing
(Moore 2017). Radovan Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska and a
psychiatrist, was convicted of
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