Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
7-2003
Disciplines
Criminology and Criminal Justice | Defense and Security Studies | Islamic Studies | Leadership Studies | Near and Middle Eastern Studies | New Religious Movements | Other Political Science | Peace and Conflict Studies | Personality and Social Contexts | Terrorism Studies
Abstract
This paper presents the results of an indirect assessment of the personality of Ayman al-Zawahiri, deputy leader of the al-Qaida terrorist network at the time of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States and allegedly chief strategist for al-Qaida operations and personal physician to Osama bin Laden.
Al-Zawahiri’s primary personality patterns were found to be Contentious/oppositional and Dominant/controlling, with secondary features of the Dauntless/dissenting and Ambitious/self-serving patterns.
The amalgam of Contentious (negativistic, or passive-aggressive) and Dominant (aggressive, or sadistic) patterns in al-Zawahiri’s profile suggests the presence of the “abrasive negativist” syndrome. For these personalities, minor frictions easily exacerbate into major confrontations and power struggles. They are quick to spot inconsistencies in others’ actions or ethical standards and adept at constructing arguments that amplify observed contradictions. They characteristically take the moral high ground, dogmatically and contemptuously expose their antagonists’ perceived hypocrisy, and contemptuously, derisively, and scornfully turn on those who cross their path.
The major implication of the study is that it offers an empirically based personological framework for conceptualizing Ayman al-Zawahiri’s antagonistic negativism, single-minded commitment to a cause, inflammatory rhetoric, and forceful persuasiveness — qualities instrumental in Osama bin Laden’s insidious campaign to propagate diabolical enemy images of the West as a catalyst for incubating a political culture contrived to inculcate religious extremism in the Islamic world.
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2003 by Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics / Aubrey Immelman
Recommended Citation
Immelman, A., & Kuhlmann, K. (2003, July). “Bin Laden’s Brain”: The abrasively negativistic personality of Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. Paper presented at the 26th Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, Boston, MA, July 6–9, 2003. Retrieved from Digital Commons website: http://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/psychology_pubs/31/
Key leadership roles in terrorist operations
Included in
Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, Defense and Security Studies Commons, Islamic Studies Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons, New Religious Movements Commons, Other Political Science Commons, Peace and Conflict Studies Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Terrorism Studies Commons
Comments
The research was conducted at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics (USPP), a collaborative faculty–student research program in the psychology of politics at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict in Collegeville and St. Joseph, Minnesota, directed by Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, who specializes in the psychological assessment of presidential candidates and world leaders.
More information and updates: http://personality-politics.org/bin-ladens-brain-the-abrasively-negativistic-personality-of-dr-ayman-al-zawahiri
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