APA Citation
Feaver, P., & Inboden, W. (2021). The Pandemic and U.S. National Security. *Orbis*, 65(1), 1-18.
Summary
This research examines how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in national security frameworks, revealing how crisis conditions can amplify authoritarian tendencies and undermine democratic institutions. The authors analyze how public health emergencies create power imbalances where leaders may exploit fear and uncertainty for control. Their findings illuminate patterns of manipulation, information control, and exploitation of dependency that mirror dynamics found in abusive relationships at both personal and societal levels.
Why This Matters for Survivors
Understanding how narcissistic leaders exploit crisis situations helps survivors recognize similar manipulation patterns in their personal relationships. The research reveals how abusers use fear, dependency, and information control during vulnerable moments—insights that validate survivors' experiences of being exploited during their own crises or moments of need by narcissistic partners, family members, or authority figures.
What This Research Establishes
Crisis situations create opportunities for narcissistic leaders to exploit vulnerability and consolidate power by positioning themselves as indispensable while others become increasingly dependent on their guidance and protection.
Fear and uncertainty are systematically weaponized to bypass normal decision-making processes and rational evaluation, making individuals and institutions more likely to accept authoritarian control measures.
Information control becomes a primary tool during crisis periods as narcissistic leaders manipulate narratives, suppress dissenting voices, and create alternative realities that serve their interests.
Democratic institutions and normal accountability measures are particularly vulnerable during emergencies when traditional checks and balances may be suspended or weakened in the name of rapid response.
Why This Matters for Survivors
This research validates what many survivors already know—narcissistic abusers deliberately exploit moments of crisis and vulnerability. Whether it’s a family emergency, job loss, illness, or other life challenges, narcissistic partners, parents, or authority figures often use these moments to tighten control rather than provide genuine support.
The patterns identified at the political level mirror what happens in abusive relationships: manufactured urgency, information manipulation, isolation from support systems, and the positioning of the abuser as your only source of safety. Understanding these dynamics helps survivors recognize that their experiences of being exploited during vulnerable times weren’t random—they were calculated.
The research also illuminates why it can be so difficult to think clearly or make decisions when under narcissistic control during crisis periods. Fear and uncertainty naturally make us more susceptible to manipulation, and abusers know this instinctively.
Finally, this analysis helps survivors understand that the problem isn’t with their judgment or strength—it’s with systems and individuals who exploit natural human responses to crisis for personal gain.
Clinical Implications
Therapists working with survivors should recognize that crisis exploitation is a common pattern in narcissistic abuse. Clients may report that their abusers became more controlling or manipulative during medical emergencies, family crises, or major life transitions. This isn’t coincidental but represents a deliberate tactic.
Understanding these dynamics helps clinicians validate clients’ experiences and explain why they may have made decisions during crisis periods that seem confusing in retrospect. The research provides a framework for helping clients understand that their responses were normal reactions to abnormal manipulation.
The parallels between political and personal manipulation can be therapeutically useful, as clients may find it easier to recognize unhealthy patterns in public figures before applying the same analysis to their personal relationships. This can reduce self-blame and increase insight.
Treatment planning should address how clients can build resilience against crisis exploitation, including developing support networks, emergency planning, and recognition of manipulation tactics during vulnerable periods.
How This Research Is Used in the Book
Chapter 8 explores how narcissistic abusers exploit crisis situations, drawing on research about authoritarian leadership to illuminate personal relationship dynamics. The analysis helps survivors understand why their abusers seemed to become more controlling during difficult times.
“When we examine how narcissistic leaders exploit national crises—creating dependency, controlling information, and positioning themselves as indispensable—we see the same patterns playing out in abusive relationships. The mother who becomes more intrusive during her adult child’s divorce, the partner who isolates you during a health scare, the boss who exploits your financial vulnerability—all are using crisis as an opportunity to consolidate control. Understanding these political dynamics validates what survivors already know: abusers don’t waste a crisis.”
Historical Context
Published during the COVID-19 pandemic, this research captured real-time observations of how democratic institutions and leadership respond to unprecedented challenges. The authors’ analysis proved prescient as various leaders worldwide demonstrated both democratic resilience and authoritarian tendencies during the crisis, providing a natural experiment in how power dynamics shift during emergencies.
Further Reading
• Snyder, Timothy. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017) - Examines how democratic institutions can be undermined during crisis periods
• Lifton, Robert Jay. Losing Reality: On Cults, Cultism, and the Mindset of Political and Religious Zealotry (2019) - Explores psychological manipulation in both political and personal contexts
• Hassan, Steven. The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control (2018) - Applies cult psychology research to political leadership patterns
About the Author
Peter Feaver is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Duke University and Director of the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy. He has served on the National Security Council staff and authored numerous works on civil-military relations and democratic governance.
William Inboden is Executive Director of the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin and former Senior Director for Strategic Planning on the National Security Council. His expertise includes democracy, authoritarianism, and crisis leadership.
Historical Context
Published during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this analysis captured real-time observations of how democratic institutions respond to unprecedented challenges and how authoritarian tendencies can emerge during crisis periods.
Frequently Asked Questions
Narcissistic leaders use crises to increase dependency, control information flow, exploit fear, and consolidate power while presenting themselves as indispensable saviors.
Warning signs include creating artificial urgency, isolating you from support systems, demanding excessive control during vulnerable moments, and using your fears against you.
Both involve exploiting vulnerability, controlling information, creating dependency, using fear as a tool, and positioning the abuser as the only source of safety or solutions.
Crises create heightened anxiety, uncertainty, and dependency, making people more likely to accept authoritarian control in exchange for perceived safety and stability.
Look for patterns of manufactured urgency, isolation during vulnerable times, information control, demands for blind trust, and exploitation of your fears or dependencies.
Fear is used to bypass rational thinking, create compliance, justify excessive control measures, and make victims more dependent on the abuser for perceived safety.
Institutions may suspend normal checks and balances, concentrate power in single leaders, suppress dissent, and prioritize order over individual rights during emergencies.
Yes, recognizing manipulation patterns at societal levels validates personal experiences and provides frameworks for understanding how abusers exploit power imbalances and vulnerability.