"Glad then noted a paradox at the foundation of the tyrant's psychology: the same qualities that enable their rise to power also undermine their ability to use that power properly. The tyrant's grandiosity and their skills in deception, manipulation, and intimidation are advantageous for securing power. But as the tyrant consolidates power, those very tendencies will become vulnerabilities, leading to their ultimate undoing."
"The cruelty that served them politically will continue absent a political purpose; their penchant for challenging convention will metastasize into chaos, undermining their base. Their grandiosity-initially presenting as confidence, energy, and strength-will morph into faulty reality testing, and they'll overreach in both domestic and foreign engagements in ways that invite new challenges to their rule."
"Borrowing from ancient Greek philosophers, Glad first defined a tyrant in terms of three criteria: A tyrant (1) rules without law, (2) looks to his own advantage rather than that of his subjects, and (3) uses extreme and cruel tactics against his own people as well as others."
Tyrants commonly display malignant narcissism characterized by grandiosity, manipulation, and cruelty. Three defining criteria are rule without law, self-serving aims, and extreme cruelty toward own people and others. The same traits that facilitate seizure of power—deception, intimidation, and boundless confidence—become liabilities during consolidation. Cruelty persists absent political purpose, and contrarian impulses generate chaos that erodes support. Grandiosity degrades into faulty reality-testing, producing impulsive overreach in domestic and foreign policy. Overreach invites new challenges and accelerates political deterioration leading to the tyrant's undoing.
Read at Psychology Today
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