1st Edition

Psychoanalytic and Historical Perspectives on the Leadership of Donald Trump Narcissism and Marketing in an Age of Anxiety and Distrust

Edited By Michael Maccoby, Ken Fuchsman Copyright 2020
    190 Pages
    by Routledge

    190 Pages
    by Routledge

    What is Donald Trump’s personality? Is he mentally ill? What in American culture and history enabled him to become president? How does his personality shape his policies and leadership?

    In this fascinating and highly relevant new book, these questions are answered by a selection of expert contributors, including psychoanalysts, historians, and a sociologist. Narcissism is defined and applied to Donald Trump, his personal history and style of leadership, and the relationship between Trump and his base is explored as a symptom of his needs and the needs of his followers. U.S. culture and U.S. politics are put under the lens, as chapters draw on contemporary academic and journalistic analysis, continuing discussions around gaslighting, demagoguery, and fascism in terms of their validity in application to Trump.

    Psychoanalytic and Historical Perspectives on the Leadership of Donald Trump refutes many of the mental health experts who label Trump as suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder and makes the case that Trump’s personality combines a marketing and narcissistic orientation that determines his behavior and policies. The authors also assert that to understand Trump’s rise and his followers, it is valuable to combine psychoanalytic, historical, and sociological perspectives. This book will therefore be of great interest to academics in those fields and all those with an interest in contemporary American politics.

    Introduction (by Michael Maccoby and Ken Fuchsman)

    Part I: Who is Donald Trump and Why Do People Follow Him?

    Ch 1 Trump's Marketing Narcissistic Leadership in an Age of Anxiety (by Michael Maccoby)

    Ch 2 The Anatomy of Narcissistic Leadership, Interview with Otto Kernberg

    (by Ken Fuchsman and Molly Castelloe)

    Ch 3 The Allure of Trump's Narcissism (by Elizabeth Lunbeck)

    Part II: How Trump Leads

    Ch 4 Probing Trump’s Disruptive Narcissistic Personality (by Paul H. Elovitz)

    Ch 5 Is Donald Trump Competent and Fit to be President? (by Ken Fuchsman)

    Ch 6 Gaslighting and Beyond (by Robin Stern and Judith Logue)

    Ch 7 Trump the Demagogue (by Michael Signer)

    Ch 8 Is Trump a Fascist? (Gottfried)

    Part III: Social and Historical Factors in the Rise of Trump

    Ch 9 American Exceptionalism on Steroids (by David Lotto)

    Ch 10 What in Our Politics, History, Economy, and Culture Enabled Trump's Rise (by Ken Fuchsman)

    Ch 11 A Sociologist's View of the Trump Phenomenon (by Charles Heckscher)

    Part IV: Presidential Personality and Performance

    Ch 12 How Trump’s Personality Influences His Policies (by Michael Maccoby)

    Ch 13 The President We Need (by Michael Maccoby)

    Ch 14 Conclusion (by Ken Fuchsman)

    Biography

    Michael Maccoby, PhD, is a psychoanalyst and anthropologist, who is a globally recognized expert on leadership. He has taught or consulted to leaders in 36 countries and has taught leadership at Oxford’s Saïd Business School and Sciences Po, Paris. He is the author of The Gamesman, Narcissistic Leaders, The Leaders We Need: And What Makes Us Follow, and Strategic Intelligence.

    Ken Fuchsman, EdD, has been President of the International Psychohistorical Association since 2016. He is Emeritus faculty from the University of Connecticut, where he taught American history and interdisciplinary studies. He has written on Presidents Kennedy, Nixon, Obama, and Trump.