Why We Elect Narcissists and Sociopaths - And How We Can Stop! : Understanding, Spotting, and Defeating High-Conflict Politicians

Bestselling author, therapist, lawyer, and mediator Bill Eddy describes how dangerous, high-conflict personalities have gained power in governments worldwide--and what citizens can do to keep these people out of office. Democracy is under siege. The reason isn't politics but personalities: too many countries have come under the sway of high-conflict people (HCPs) who have become politicians. Most of these high-conflict politicians have traits of narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial (i.e., sociopathic) personality disorder, or both. This is the first and only guide for identifying and thwarting them. HCPs don't avoid conflict, they thrive on it, widening social divisions and exacerbating international tensions. Eddy, the world's leading authority on high-conflict personalities, explains why they're so seductive and describes the telltale traits that define HCPs--he even includes a helpful list of forty typical HCP behaviors. Drawing on historical examples from Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Nixon to Trump, Maduro, and Putin, Eddy shows how HCPs invent enemies and manufacture phony crises so they can portray themselves as the sole heroic figure who can deal with them, despite their inability to actually solve problems. He describes the best ways to expose HCPs as the charlatans they are, reply to their empty and misleading promises, and find genuine leaders to support. Eddy brings his deep psychotherapeutic experience to bear on a previously unidentified phenomena that presents a real threat to the world. Cover......Page 1 Half Title......Page 4 Title......Page 6 Copyright......Page 7 Contents......Page 10 PREFACE......Page 12 PART I: How Narcissists and Sociopaths Get Elected......Page 18 1: High- Conflict Politicians......Page 20 2: High-Conflict Emotional Warfare......Page 36 3: The 4-Way Voter Split......Page 44 4: High- Emotion Media......Page 54 5: The Fantasy Crisis Triad......Page 66 PART II: The Fantasy Crisis Triad Worldwide......Page 76 6: How Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Took Over......Page 78 7: Around the World Today: Russia, Hungary, the Philippines, Venezuela, and Italy......Page 94 8: Here at Home: From McCarthy to Nixon to Trump to ___________?......Page 112 9: 10 Common Mistakes with High- Conflict Politicians......Page 134 PART III: How to Stop High- Conflict Politicians......Page 142 10: It’s All about Relationships......Page 144 11: Screen Out Narcissists and Sociopaths......Page 156 12: Expose Their Fantasy Crisis Triads......Page 166 13: Be as Assertive as HCPs Are Aggressive......Page 174 14: Manage the Media and Fake News......Page 180 CONCLUSION: Maintaining Our Immunity......Page 184 APPENDIX A: 40 Predictable Behaviors of HCPs......Page 186 APPENDIX B: High- Conflict Politician Scorecard......Page 190 APPENDIX C: Blank 4-Way Voter Split Diagram......Page 192 APPENDIX D: Fantasy Crisis Triads—Examples Worldwide......Page 194 NOTES......Page 198 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 210 B......Page 212 E......Page 213 G......Page 214 H......Page 215 M......Page 216 N......Page 217 S......Page 218 T......Page 219 Z......Page 220 ABOUT THE AUTHOR......Page 222