Madmen at the Helm

The Arab Spring was a watershed in Arab history, which gave young protesters the impetus to challenge established and entrenched dictatorial regimes for the first time, and to demand democracy. In this unique book, Muriel Mirak-Weissbach reviews specialist literature and provides a profile of the personality disorder of narcissism displayed by five leaders (Mubarak, Qaddafi, Ben Ali, Saleh and Assad), together with the related syndromes of paranoia, hysteria, and sociopathy. She argues that the