Dr. Marcel Dirsus

using child soldiers or committing crimes against humanity, then you might think twice about doing it because you know that you may not just have to deal with people in your own country, but you might be looking at an extended trip to The Hague or the UK or whatever.

using child soldiers or committing crimes against humanity, then you might think twice about doing it because you know that you may not just have to deal with people in your own country, but you might be looking at an extended trip to The Hague or the UK or whatever.

using child soldiers or committing crimes against humanity, then you might think twice about doing it because you know that you may not just have to deal with people in your own country, but you might be looking at an extended trip to The Hague or the UK or whatever.

Yeah, so two sides to this. On the one hand, it can be a deterrent, right? Not just the ICC, but all of the other systems of international justice as well. And that may make it less likely that dictators or other leaders commit atrocities. But the flip side of that is that once you have committed those atrocities, you now have an even stronger incentive to try to maintain power.

Yeah, so two sides to this. On the one hand, it can be a deterrent, right? Not just the ICC, but all of the other systems of international justice as well. And that may make it less likely that dictators or other leaders commit atrocities. But the flip side of that is that once you have committed those atrocities, you now have an even stronger incentive to try to maintain power.

Yeah, so two sides to this. On the one hand, it can be a deterrent, right? Not just the ICC, but all of the other systems of international justice as well. And that may make it less likely that dictators or other leaders commit atrocities. But the flip side of that is that once you have committed those atrocities, you now have an even stronger incentive to try to maintain power.

Yeah, it's almost a caricature of what you would tell people if you told them about a dictator. The whole thing is completely crazy. He wrote this philosophical treatise that then everybody had to study. There were regular study sessions at the ministries. He renamed the days of the week. He put up a statue that rotated with the sun, right? So clever. Just completely not.

Yeah, it's almost a caricature of what you would tell people if you told them about a dictator. The whole thing is completely crazy. He wrote this philosophical treatise that then everybody had to study. There were regular study sessions at the ministries. He renamed the days of the week. He put up a statue that rotated with the sun, right? So clever. Just completely not.

Yeah, it's almost a caricature of what you would tell people if you told them about a dictator. The whole thing is completely crazy. He wrote this philosophical treatise that then everybody had to study. There were regular study sessions at the ministries. He renamed the days of the week. He put up a statue that rotated with the sun, right? So clever. Just completely not.

And once again, the reason that he could is because it was a dictatorship. And who's going to resist if resisting means imprisonment or death?

And once again, the reason that he could is because it was a dictatorship. And who's going to resist if resisting means imprisonment or death?

And once again, the reason that he could is because it was a dictatorship. And who's going to resist if resisting means imprisonment or death?

It's like running an entire country on the personal whims of a five-year-old on any given day. It's like, okay, I'm not allowed to do this anymore. Nobody is allowed to do this. So for example, there are stories about him not being allowed to smoke anymore because of some health issue. And then he moved to ban smoking for everybody. So it's completely insane.

It's like running an entire country on the personal whims of a five-year-old on any given day. It's like, okay, I'm not allowed to do this anymore. Nobody is allowed to do this. So for example, there are stories about him not being allowed to smoke anymore because of some health issue. And then he moved to ban smoking for everybody. So it's completely insane.

It's like running an entire country on the personal whims of a five-year-old on any given day. It's like, okay, I'm not allowed to do this anymore. Nobody is allowed to do this. So for example, there are stories about him not being allowed to smoke anymore because of some health issue. And then he moved to ban smoking for everybody. So it's completely insane.

And I mean, he's not alone in this, right? I mean, there are a bunch of dictatorships that seem crazy. Although what I would say, and I think this is an important point to make, even though a lot of these people might seem crazy, ultimately then my argument is that they're not. Because if they actually were crazy, they would lose power pretty quickly.

And I mean, he's not alone in this, right? I mean, there are a bunch of dictatorships that seem crazy. Although what I would say, and I think this is an important point to make, even though a lot of these people might seem crazy, ultimately then my argument is that they're not. Because if they actually were crazy, they would lose power pretty quickly.

And I mean, he's not alone in this, right? I mean, there are a bunch of dictatorships that seem crazy. Although what I would say, and I think this is an important point to make, even though a lot of these people might seem crazy, ultimately then my argument is that they're not. Because if they actually were crazy, they would lose power pretty quickly.

So in the book, I looked at a dictator that actually lost his mind, like fully lost his mind and became completely delusional. And what happened is, so this was in Equatorial Guinea during the Cold War. He would walk around his compound crying out the names of the people that he had killed. And in one episode, he would ask his servants to lay the table for eight guests.

So in the book, I looked at a dictator that actually lost his mind, like fully lost his mind and became completely delusional. And what happened is, so this was in Equatorial Guinea during the Cold War. He would walk around his compound crying out the names of the people that he had killed. And in one episode, he would ask his servants to lay the table for eight guests.