Ranieri Guerra, MD

 recently hosted the first of 2  workshops on 

Leaders and Terrorists: Psychological Perspectives on National  Security

The well-attended symposium drew upon the growing interest in exploring and utilizing all the elements  of national power, including so-called “soft power”-the ability to attract and  persuade others in order to influence their behavior and obtain desired  outcomes. A high-level panel highlighted the role of psychological insights in promoting national security and peace, and how  understanding human behavior is key to preventing and mitigating the  consequences of the worst human behavior.

In his opening remarks, the Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission, Minister  Luca Franchetti-Pardo, emphasized the close collaboration of Italy and the US  in the complex scenarios of global and domestic security.

The impact of personal and group dynamics in the decision-making process  of terror groups and the U.S. Government in the era of the “War on Terror” was  the subject of the keynote speech given by the Hon. Richard Danzig, PhD, JD,  Secretary of the Navy under President Clinton, presently Chairman of the Center  for a New American Security, a member of the Department of Defense Policy Board  and of President Obama’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

Psychological profiles of Saddam Hussein, Bashar al-Asad, and the North  Korean Kim dynasty rulers were provided by Jerrold Post, MD, Professor of  Psychiatry and International Relations at George Washington University,  previously the founding director of the CIA Center for the Analysis of  Personality and Political Behavior, in his talk on 

Tailored  Deterrence: The Requirement for Nuanced Leader Profiles in the Post Cold-War  Era

The Role of Behavioral Science in  Understanding Threats to National Security, 

offering a sobering review of the  strengths and limitations of the field. He is the Director of the Law and Psychiatry  Service at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Psychiatry  at Harvard Medical School, a member of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Biological  Sciences Expert Group.

Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis: Navigating  National Security through the Straits of Critical Incident Analysis

, Gregory Saathoff,  MD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Public Health at the  University of Virginia Medical School, Executive Director of the Critical  Incident Analysis Group, a consultant to the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, underscored the importance of team  work and interagency coordination.

Reporting  on the outcomes of programs aimed at terrorist reeducation and rehabilitation Arie Kruglanski, PhD, presented 

The Quest for Significance as the Underlying  Motivation for Terrorism

.  Dr Kruglanski is Distinguished Professor of Psychology and co-principal  investigator at the National Center for the Study of Terrorism and the Response  to Terrorism at the University of Maryland.

The Grey Zone: Aiding and Abetting Terrorism.

A Comparative Analysis on Behaviours and  Legislations

,  The  Hon. Judge Giannicola Sinisi, Attach for Legal Affairs at the Embassy of Italy  and a former Member of the Italian Parliament, utilized his philosophical and  legal knowledge to address the fundamental issue of balancing liberty and  security.

In conclusion, Mr Guido Olimpio, author and journalist, senior  international correspondent from Washington, DC, for the Italian newspaper 

 shared observations  and perspectives based on over 30 years of experience in the field around the  world.

The authors of this article organized the  symposium.

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The Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC recently hosted the first of 2 workshops on “Leaders and Terrorists: Psychological Perspectives on National Security.”

Author | Ranieri Guerra, MD

Articles

Symposium on Psychology and National Security at the Italian Embassy