Consolidation and Corruption of Power: the Role and Use of Fear In
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2020-3871-AJHIS 1 Consolidation and Corruption of Power: The Role and Use of Fear in 2 the Political Leadership of Idi Amin Dada and Saloth Sar/Pol Pot 3 4 It is popularly acknowledged from the speeches of John Dalberg-Acton, John 5 Adams, and from the streets that power leads to corruption [power 6 corrupts], and absolute power corrupts absolutely. To some extent, power 7 can corrupt the individual, and to some extent, the fear of loss of power, the 8 personality, attitude, behaviour, the [political] philosophy, etc. of a leader 9 can equally corrupt the power, authority or position that one holds just as 10 John Steinbeck reiterated: “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps 11 the fear of loss of power”. It is with this reason that this article seeks to 12 establish that although power can corrupt the individual, however, fear of 13 loss of power, the lust for consolidating position, over-ambition, etc. are most 14 prominent forces that make the idea of “power” or “authority” seem 15 corrupted. Thus, it is the desire to consolidate power and the fear of loss of 16 power that corrupts the authority, power, or position that one holds. To 17 address the issue and justify the hypothesis, the leadership/regimes of Idi 18 Amin Dada and Saloth Sar/Pol Pot have been used as a case study. 19 Keywords: Consolidation and Corruption of Power, Fear, Political 20 Leadership, Idi Amin Dada, Saloth Sar/Pol Pot 21 22 23 Introduction 24 25 Many are the quotes that suggest that power, authority, or the 26 position of a person tends to corrupt the person. Examples of such 27 suppositions can be found in the speeches of John Dalberg-Acton who 28 believe that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely1; 29 and John Adams who believes that ‚because power corrupts, society’s 30 demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance 31 of the position increases‛2. However, I suppose that power can corrupt 32 the individual, but not always. When a leader does not know the true 33 purpose and concept of leadership in addition to behavioral defects, 34 then the personality, fear, low self-esteem, over-ambition, etc. of the 35 leader would make the leader corrupt but not power corrupting the 1John Dalberg-Acton, John Dalberg-Acton Quotes, https://www.brainyquote.com/quo tes/john _adams_389106 2John Adams, John Adams Quotes, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_adams _389106 1 2020-3871-AJHIS – 05 AUG 2020 1 leader just as John Steinbeck has noted: ‚Power does not corrupt. Fear 2 corrupts< perhaps the fear of loss of power‛.3 3 Concerning leadership, the question we need to regularly ask is 4 ‘why’? ‘Why’ do leaders make certain decisions? ‘Why’ should that 5 decision be taken? ‘Why’ not any other strategy? ‘Why’ must it be this 6 plan and action? The answers to some of these questions are 7 circumstantial, situational, and quite subjective. But when it comes to 8 mass murder and atrocities under a political leader, it becomes baffling 9 to synthesize the cause of action. Could it (massacres) be a punishment 10 to offenders, or one's desire to stay on power, or fear of loss of power 11 that make us witness killings and other draconian measures under 12 some political leaders? I highly presume the acquisition of power and 13 the fear of loss of power as some of the major causes of mass murder 14 witnessed under certain regimes. To re-emphasize and establish this 15 hypothesis, the leadership styles of Idi Amin Dada and Pol Pot have 16 been used as a case study. By this, prominences are given to some of 17 their actions and inactions during their reign. It will, however, suffice to 18 do a brief conceptual review of fear in the context of leadership before 19 the main discussion. 20 21 22 Conceptualization of Fear in Leadership 23 24 According to Westernmayr (1915: 250), ‚fear is the great force that 25 prompts to acts of self-preservation and operates as effectively in the 26 brute as in the human animal.‛4 Since fear can be conceived as a force 27 that stimulates the individual to act in a certain manner, it then follows 28 that there is cause-of-fear which motivates the individual to act either to 29 defend himself or otherwise. It is interesting to know why fear drives 30 some political leaders and managers to act the way they do. Within the 31 framework of leadership, the innate character, personality, mindset, 32 and behavioural issues of the leader can make him corrupt if, 33 especially, there is the fear of being ousted and the urge to satisfy 34 personal interest as against cooperating benefit and the desire to 35 consolidate power. 3John Steinbeck, John Steinbeck Quotes, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_ada ms_389106 4Arthur J. Westernmayr, ‚The Psychology of Fear,‛ The Open Court, Iss. 4, 5. (1915), https://open iuc.lib.siu.edu/ocj/vol1915/iss4/5 2 2020-3871-AJHIS – 05 AUG 2020 1 Whenever leaders become obsessed and over-ambitious with 2 power, the fear of losing it makes him corrupt but not power corrupting 3 the leader since it is people who seek power and occupy state 4 institutions. Leaders who are corrupt fear that the people they lead will 5 demand accurate account, transparency, justice, and fairness during 6 and after the tenure of office. If these become problematic for the leader, 7 then he employs diabolic means, which has nothing to do with the form 8 of government, the rules, or whatsoever, to have his way out. This 9 corrupt power but not power corrupting the leader or the individual. 10 On the contrary, John Adams, who believes that power corrupts, 11 however, goes further to draw a sharp contrast by stating that society’s 12 demands for moral authority and character must increase ‚as the 13 importance of the position increases<‛5 By analysis, although John 14 Adams affirms that power corrupts, he quickly asserted that much 15 focus should be placed on morality and character of state officials or 16 leaders. It is only through these means can corruption of individuals be 17 curtailed. 18 With referencing to power, leadership, and fear, John Adams 19 categorically stated that: 20 21 ‚Fear is the foundation of most governments‛; ‚I have accepted a seat in 22 the House of Representatives, and thereby have consented to my own 23 ruin, to your ruin, and to the ruin of our children. I give you this warning 24 that you may prepare your mind for your fate‛; ‚Remember, democracy 25 never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never 26 was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide‛.6 27 28 By interpretation, we can understand from divergent perspectives 29 that the real issue with leadership is not only about the form of 30 government and the institutions thereof but the underlying motivating 31 factor for which leaders take certain measures and act the way they 32 consider appropriate. Any society or cooperate body can opt for any 33 form of government but the wellbeing of the organization is morality 34 and character. If there are defects in the morals and character of the 35 leader, then the result is ruining other people and the leader himself. 36 According to Gregory Claeys (2017), we can find such behaviorisms 5John Adams, John Adams Quotes, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_adams _389106 6Ibid. 3 2020-3871-AJHIS – 05 AUG 2020 1 under absolute leaders or totalitarian regimes.7 For Claeys (2017), 2 absolute leaders like Pol Pot and Idi Amin use fear as a force and a 3 motion to do the absurd. In this type of regime, political leaders use fear 4 to create and maintain their power, and through fear, they go to the 5 extreme and become so destructive as we witness the mass destruction 6 that occurred under the regimes of Stalinism, the Nazi death camp at 7 Auschwitz, Idi Amin in Uganda, and Pol Pot’s rule in Cambodia 8 between 1975 and 1979.8 9 Regimes like Idi Amin and Pol Pot mostly lack attitude, the true 10 purpose of leadership, and low self-esteem motivated by fear. When 11 this happens, fear begins to control the leader thereby making him 12 corrupt especially when the person is much preoccupied about holding 13 onto position forever. These are some basic root causes of ‘corrupted 14 leadership’ just as John Steinbeck reiterated: ‚Power does not corrupt. 15 Fear corrupts< perhaps the fear of loss of power‛.9 16 The presence of fear of loss of power plays a mental threat to many 17 leaders. According to Myles Munroe (2005), leadership demands 18 mental reconditioning and attitude.10 In the view of Munroe, the key to 19 the purposeful and true leadership is an attitude rather than aptitude. 20 In other words, it’s not ability — it’s mentality. What you think is even 21 more important than what you do.11 Thus, when a leader fears of losing 22 his power and position, and in his mind thinks of consolidating his 23 power eternally, then every possible means, by fair or foul means, 24 would be employed to the leader’s satisfaction. This is the more reason 25 why a leader has to have an incorporation of positive attitudes toward 26 governing better. Incorporation of positive attitudes is also the more 27 reason why Munroe stated that a leader can’t have vision without 28 courage, a leader can’t have courage without compassion (sympathy, 29 empathy, concern, kind-heartedness, care, consideration, etc.), and a 30 leader can’t have compassion without strategy or policy if the said 7Gregory Claeys, Dystopia: A Natural History: A Study of Modern Despotism, Its Antecedents, and Its Literary Diffractions (United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2017), 113ff.