REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP

188 REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP

identifi cation that followers feel leads them to imitate his violent acts.

What he did to them, they can (and should) do to others.

Ways of Coping with Terror

Psychological defenses do not offer much protection against tyranny, but

sometimes they are all that the victims (and those co - opted) have to rely

on. Some of these defensive reactions imply colluding with the despot;

others are fl ight reactions; and still others, adopted by individuals pre-

pared to take a stand regardless of consequences, involve proactive efforts

to overthrow the despotic regime.

Identifi cation with the Aggressor

Some people, in an effort to cope psychologically with despots, resort

to the defensive process known as ‘ identifi cation with the aggressor ’

(Freud, 1966 ) (see p. 139). When people fi nd themselves in situations of

great distress, they feel a basic need to retain an element of psychological

security. A tyrannical regime and the violent and unpredictable behavior

of the leader strike terror and paranoid anxiety into the hearts of his

followers. To cope with these feelings, some of the followers develop an

ambivalent relationship with their leader. They feel frightened by them,

but attracted too, and lured by the protection they seem to offer.

In full - fl edged identifi cation with the aggressor, individuals imper-

sonate the aggressor, assuming the aggressor ’ s attributes and transform-

ing themselves from those who are threatened to those making the

threat. These victims (or victims - to - be) hope to acquire some of

the power that the would - be aggressor possesses. The more extreme

the actions of the leader, the more aggressive the self - defense must

be — and the more tempting it is for subjects to gain strength by becom-

ing part of his system and sharing his power. Victims become informers,

for example, or underguards in concentration camps, and in those roles

sometimes act more barbarically toward their fellow prisoners than the

real guards do, resorting — though they know well the pain — to psycho-

logical and physical torture.

Violence and submission are closely intertwined in identifi cation

with the aggressor. The victims of a despot ’ s violence hold their hostility

in check by excessively subservient behavior toward the aggressor. If

they turn the aggressor into a ‘ good ’ person, they reduce their feelings

of fear and helplessness. This defense is an illusory attempt to gain