Why do dictators do stupid things?

Follow the link for the full article on this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17990615

Sacha Baron Cohen's latest comedy, The Dictator, features the antics of a fictional leader from North Africa. Admiral General Aladeen is an extreme representation, but why do real autocrats so often do strange things? 

Cohen's character lives in luxury in Wadiya, surrounded by an army of female bodyguards, and the The figure is clearly inspired by leaders like Muammar Gaddafi (who also had a female entourage), killed after being ousted from power in Libya last year.

 Actions of other dictators include

 Emperor Caligula (AD 12 - 41)

• He also loved race horses, and was said to have lavished his favourite horse with a house, a troop of slaves, and wine in golden goblets.

• Caligula's erratic behaviour, which also included ordering troops to gather sea shells during a campaign against Britain, led many to question his sanity.  

Superstituous- Francois Duvalier (1907-1971)-  Haiti

• A voodoo physician, he was extremely superstitious, and believed that he was guarded by voodoo spirits on the 22nd of each month. In later years, he only left the presidential palace on the 22nd of each month.
• He claimed to have placed a voodoo curse on US President John F Kennedy, and said Kennedy's assassination on 22 November 1963 was caused by his powers.
    

Obsessed - Idi Amin (1920s-2003)

•  Idi Amin, who ruled Uganda in the 70s, enjoyed giving himself titles, including "Conqueror of the British Empire" and, most famously, "King of Scotland". He also promoted himself to field marshal and awarded himself the Victoria Cross and Military Cross.

•  There were reports that he kept the severed heads of political opponents in his refrigerator. While this has not been proven, he once said to an adviser before dinner: "I want your heart. I want to eat your children.   

Cult of personality - Saparmurat Niyazov (1940-2006)

• Turkmenistan's president-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov established a cult of personality that could easily have rivalled that of Cohen's "dictator". He had a 15m (50ft) gold-plated statue of himself built and it revolved so it always faced the sun.
• Whilst the majority of people in Turkmenistan lived in poverty, he had an ice palace built in the capital, and ordered the construction of a lake in the middle of the desert. 
• He also named cities, a theme park, the month of January, and even a meteorite after himself.

Happy posting.  Keep this clean and sensible!

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Happy posting!  

Mr A