Psychology and the U.N. Development Goals

Posted on September 26, 2015 by Ian | disorderedworld

Before the end of 2015, the leaders of the world’s nations will attend two major summits. Their task is nothing less than to change the course of history.

This week in New York, the U.N. post-2015 Development Summit seeks to agree a set of goals that together aim to create a more peaceful and equal world by 2030. Then, in December, the 2015 Paris Climate Conference will aim to reach a legally binding agreement on climate, with the goal of keeping global warming below 2°C.

A discussion of human psychology, however, will be largely absent from both of these crucial meetings. Laudable as current international efforts are, they are unfortunately doomed to failure if they do not pay more attention to some unpalatable facts about the psychology of our species. Continue reading →

Pol Pot and Hitler – The Fools Who Shape History

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Ian | disorderedworld

Three decades and five thousand miles separate two photographs.

The first shows a city in ruins. In the foreground, amidst the rubble, the outlines of what once were buildings are clearly discernible. In the distance lies a vast area of complete desolation, an ominous wasteland devoid even of rubble. Amidst this desolation, nothing remains of the unprepossessing plaza which once served as a gateway to hell. A huge oval, it had been partly surrounded by buildings with roads running into it like streams into a pond. With its perimeter fenced off, there was space enough within for up to eight thousand victims at a time. Continue reading →

Political Paranoia’s Fatal Attraction

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Ian | disorderedworld

‘Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil.’ Eric Hoffer

Paranoid personality disorder is one of a range of personality disorders classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association. It is characterised by pathological suspicion and an obsessive need to eliminate enemies, both real and imaginary.

Pathological paranoia played a dominant role in the mindsets of those responsible for the worst atrocities of the twentieth century.

In our contemporary world, reeling from global financial crisis, turmoil in the Middle East, and Russian aggression in Ukraine, the world is reacquainting itself once again with this deadliest of mental disorders. Continue reading →

Q&A on Dangerous Personality Disorders Part 1

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Ian | disorderedworld

I recently had the honour of appearing as a guest on Doug Bennett’s radio show ‘Unspun: An Experiment in Truth Telling’ on KKRN in Northern California. During our conversation, Doug Bennett and I explored dangerous personality disorders, what they are and how they are caused, and the damage that people with these disorders cause in the world. This blog has extracts from part 1 of the interview. The interview can be heard in full here. Continue reading →

Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Ian | disorderedworld

Insights into the Minds of Psychopaths

Under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia suffered the loss of the highest proportion of its population of any nation in modern history.

A study of the actions of psychopathically disordered regimes reveals common features which correspond closely with the clinical symptoms of psychopathy, pathological narcissism and pathological paranoia. By examining the regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, we can recognize a number of core features of such psychologically disordered regimes. This in turn can give us some understanding of the nightmarish world they create when their psychology becomes manifest in the societies they control. Continue reading →

Cambodia’s Path to Genocide

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Ian | disorderedworld

In the six decades since Independence, Cambodians have suffered under three governments – the dictatorial rule of Sihanouk, the genocidal reign of the Khmer Rouge, and the twenty five year rule of current Prime Minister Hun Sen. During this time, Cambodians have suffered unimaginable horrors because of the absence of true democracy and the lack of protection against the rule of dangerous elites. Continue reading →

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