The UN Security Council is made up of five permanent members.  The United States, Russia, China, France and Britain.  These five countries are the most powerful countries in the world, in terms of economic might, military strength, including the fact that they are all nuclear powers, and geopolitical influence.  Two of these countries – Britain and France – are former colonial powers, with vast empires that spanned large areas of the globe.  The United States is the world’s richest country, followed closely by China.  Russia has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, and was, until the 90s, part of the Soviet Union.  As permanent members of the UN Security Council, these five countries have immense powers, which include intervening militarily in any part of the world and vetoing anything they don’t agree with.  You could say that these countries run the world.  It is, therefore, in my opinion, imperative that we look at the psychology of these countries, because of the powerful place they hold in the running of planetary affairs.  The rest of the world is held captive by the actions of these five countries, including their so-called ‘great power competition’ and their ability to veto all other countries of the world combined.

What do I mean when I talk about the psychology of these countries?  It is an observable fact that countries have a national character, the same way human beings have an individual character.  People who live in a country tend to behave in a certain way that is unique to that country.  That is why whenever someone visits a country, they usually come out with an impression of how the people of that country are.  The people themselves may or may not be aware of their national character, but visitors to the country often leave with an impression about the character of the inhabitants of the country.  We often hear people comment that Kenyans are like this, Americans are like that, the French are like this, etc.  Due to similarities in culture, language, education systems, beliefs, religion, etc, a country will have a national character that is observable by others.  This is what I am referring to when I talk about the psychology of the UN Security Council.  These are my impressions of the countries that make up the UN Security Council and how their psychology affects how they run the world.

The world is currently in chaos, and has been in chaos for a very long time.  The UN Security Council seems to either be unable or unwilling to bring about the peace that most people on earth aspire to, even though this is supposed to be their core mandate.  I think it is fair to say that the Security Council is exhibiting dark triad traits.  Any rational person observing how the most powerful nations behave on the world stage will conclude that these countries are not mentally sound.  Whether it’s through the exercise of their veto powers to oppose any attempts at peace-making, their military interventions that invariably make matters worse or their endless debates about the wording of some statement while the situation spirals out of control, the UN Security Council keeps proving time and time again that its members are of the dark triad.

For those who do not know what the dark triad is, it is a combination of three dark personality types – narcissism, psychopathy/sociopathy and Machiavellianism – in an individual or institution.  I am expanding the definition to include an institution, in this case, the UN Security Council.  These three personality disorders make up the dark triad, which is one of the most dangerous disorders a person can have.  Each of these disorders on its own is bad enough.  The combination of all three disorders in one individual or institution is a dangerous, destructive, and scary phenomenon that no one should ever have the misfortune to encounter in their lifetime.  Unfortunately, all of us on the planet are subject to a dark triad institution in the form of the UN Security Council.  This explains why, despite so much effort by so many institutions, including regional bodies, NGOs, humanitarian organisations, religious institutions, and the UN General Assembly, we never seem to achieve world peace.  We always seem to default to war and chaos.  The UN Security Council, the very institution that has the power to immediately end all wars and bring about the peaceful coexistence we all long for, seems to constantly dig us deeper into confrontations, wars and diplomatic failures.

The Psychopath

Psychopathy is characterised by superficial charm, manipulativeness, lack of empathy or guilt, impulsivity, and a fearless, high-risk-taking disposition.  The United States is the psychopath of the UN Security Council.  We see it all the time in how the US vetoes resolutions that would bring about peace, for example, in the case of the war in Gaza.  We see it in the US’s resolute defense and support of Israel, even while Israel is being accused of genocide and its leaders wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity.  Clearly, the US believes it is above the law.  We see this in the US refusal to be part of the ICC and its sanctioning of the judges who delivered an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  We see their psychopathy in the way they keep the world supplied with weapons, even while presenting themselves as a force for good.  They have no conscience and no empathy for the people they destroy.  We see the US’s psychopathy in how they overthrow democratically elected governments and how they threaten to go to war with countries that refuse to submit, for example, in the recent case where Nigeria was threatened with invasion.  We see it in their refusal to participate in global forums that do not bend to their will, for example, the recent COP30 and the G20.  The US is so convinced of its superiority that it does not realise how its behaviour on the world stage comes across as embarrassing for a country that claims to be a superpower.  Even the notion of a country being a superpower is an embarrassing, egotistical claim that a mature, rational country would never claim to be.  The US’s psychopathy is also clear from its history of slavery and the racism that persists to this day.  The Americans seem completely incapable of accepting that black people are equal to white people, the same way they are unable to accept that the US is equal to other countries.

The Sociopath

Sociopathy is characterised by a pervasive disregard for the rights of others, lack of empathy, and persistent rule-breaking.  The condition is associated with a profound lack of conscience and can lead to difficulties in relationships, employment, and legal issues.  The sociopath of the group is France.  Unlike psychopathy, which is a genetic and biological disorder, sociopathy is a product of nurture.  This means they are more likely to display antisocial behaviours, such as problems with the law and an inability to fit into society, whereas the psychopath is more adept at wearing a mask of sanity.  France’s sociopathy can be seen from its history of slavery, its colonial past, and its neo-colonial present.  France was known for its extreme brutality towards its enslaved and colonised people.  The way France treated Haiti, for example, is particularly horrifying.  France was known to be so brutal towards Haiti that new slaves coming to work in the sugar plantations would last a mere ten years before dying from the grim working conditions. When Haitians fought and won their freedom, the French took this with characteristic vengefulness.  They forced the Haitians to compensate them for the loss of their ‘property’ (the slaves), a debt burden that has inflicted generational poverty upon Haiti that has persisted to this day.  In their West African colonies, France was also known for its brutality, but it is the way they departed from the former colonies at independence that particularly stands out.  With the same mafia-like vengefulness they displayed towards Haiti, France forced the West African countries to join Françafrique, which is the political, economic, military, and cultural networks that France has maintained with its former colonies in sub-Saharan Africa since independence, often described as a form of neocolonialism.  When Guinea refused to join this grouping, which was supposedly voluntary, it was utterly destroyed and sabotaged by the departing French.  For years after independence, France carried out almost non-stop military interventions in the former colonies to keep them in check. This level of lawlessness on the part of France can only be described as sociopathic. To this day, Françafrique has kept several West African countries under the control of France, although these chains are starting to weaken.  France is not taking this new development well, with brutal attempts to hold on to this neo-colonial structure on display.

The Machiavellian

Machiavellianism is a personality trait characterised by manipulation, emotional coldness, and a cynical worldview, where individuals prioritise their own self-interest and use deceit or exploitation to achieve personal goals, often at the expense of others.  The Machiavellian of the group is Britain.  Despite its brutal colonial past spanning centuries and covering vast geographical regions of the planet, Britain still somehow manages to come across today as the paternalistic, benevolent benefactor of its former colonies.  The commonwealth is an attempt by Britain to maintain control of its former colonies, without the nasty, neo-colonial overtones of France.  It’s an attempt to look fatherly and concerned for the former colonies, a father figure wanting nothing more than the advancement of the former colonies.  This is blatant deception, because Britain is only concerned with maintaining its control of the former colonies.  Britain’s Machiavellianism can be observed from its monarchy, an institution that pretends to have no power or influence over what happens in the UK or the world, while pulling the strings in the background.  It is a well-known fact that the monarchies of Europe started retreating into quasi democratic arrangements after the brutal overthrow of the French monarchy in 1789, out of fear that the same fate would befall them.  In these new arrangements, power was supposedly held by democratically elected governments, while the monarchies only held ceremonial power.  But we all know that this is not actually the case, but a Machiavellian deception of the masses.  The monarchies still pull the strings in the background, and it is naïve of anyone to believe that they simply handed over power and accepted their new roles.  The monarchies are, in reality, the puppet masters, while the governments are the puppets being controlled from behind the scenes.  Britain has perfected the art of appearing to be one thing in public, while being something else entirely in the background.  Let’s not forget that when Ukraine was about to arrive at a peace treaty with Russia, a few months after the war began, it was Britain that rushed to Ukraine and stopped the treaty from happening.

The Narcissist

Narcissism is defined as a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, a need for excessive admiration, and a lack of empathy.  Russia is the Narcissist of the UN Security Council.  Russia has been engaged in a great power struggle with the West for as long as anyone can remember, and seems unable to define itself other than in relation to the West.  They seem to constantly be trying to prove that they are as good as the West.  Russia has been engaged in a passive-aggressive confrontation with the West since the days of the Cold War, which almost resulted in nuclear annihilation of the planet during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  The entire war with Ukraine came about because Ukraine wanted to join NATO.  While Russia seems to believe that this would be an existential threat, it’s not clear how Ukraine’s joining NATO would affect Russia.  The idea that there must be a buffer zone between NATO countries and Russia shows a grandiose self-image on the part of Russia.  The truth is, Ukraine joining NATO would be neither here nor there.  But for a country steeped in grandiosity, this feels like a red line that must never be crossed, even to the point of going to a destructive war that has caused untold suffering not just to Ukraine but to the world.  We are also seeing Russia’s narcissism in its passive-aggressive attempt to gain influence in Africa.  It’s one thing to want to trade and cooperate with Africa from a genuine desire to advance mutual interests, but in the case of Russia, it is only doing this as a passive-aggressive, egotistical stance meant to goad the West.  Russia’s inability to simply live its own life as an independent country, not at odds with anyone, exposes it for the narcissist it is.

The Sane one

This brings us to the final member of the UN Security Council, China.  As far as I can tell, China is the only sane member of the UN Security Council.  But unfortunately, China has a see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil attitude, which means it has failed to live up to its potential.  China remains silent as the other members of the UN Security Council run amok, causing havoc everywhere they turn.  China, in its dealings with most countries, refuses to take a moral stand, preferring to quietly trade without standing up for human rights.  This is a failure on its part and a waste of its huge potential.  When Israel started its genocidal campaign in Gaza, it was South Africa that brought a case to the ICJ.  South Africa is still suffering today from the wrath of the Americans, who are staunch allies of Israel, through the false accusations of white farmer genocide, and the US boycott of the G20 meeting that was held in South Africa.  China is powerful enough to stand up to any country on the globe, but this potential is going to waste.  China also boasts of having lifted millions of people out of poverty, while a rich country like the US has people living in poverty, in a land of plenty.  China has the moral authority that the US falsely claims to have.  Not that China is perfect – we all know about its authoritarianism and the suppression of individual rights.  But if there is a non-aggressive country that does not have a history of slavery or colonialism and is quietly working towards the economic uplifting of not only its own citizens but citizens of the world through its Belt and Road Initiative, it is China.  China needs to step up, as the only sane member of the Security Council and as a respected partner of many countries in the global South.

Bonus: The Sadist

The dark triad is sometimes referred to as the dark tetrad when sadism is added to the mix.  For purposes of my analysis of the UN Security Council, I used the dark triad because none of the members of the UN Security Council display sadism.  But as a bonus, I am adding Israel to the list, a country that is not part of the UN Security Council but takes the sadism crown.  Sadism is defined as the derivation of pleasure from the infliction of physical pain or psychological suffering on another person.  It is characterised by a persistent and intense pattern of fantasies, urges, or behaviours involving the suffering of others.  In Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, we see their sadism in full display.  They seem to enjoy the suffering of the Palestinians, even going as far as randomly shooting and killing Palestinians who show up to collect food at humanitarian centres.  Their sadism is displayed in their intentional killing of children, which has horrified the world.  While killing is never a good thing, no matter who is killed, most people have an instinctive urge to protect children.  Israel seems to deliberately target children to cause maximum psychological suffering not just on Palestinians, but the entire world that is constantly bombarded with news and images of the killings.  We have seen Israel’s sadism in their denial of humanitarian aid to Palestinians, going as far as killing aid workers who are desperate to supply aid.  What Israel is doing goes beyond war, which is horrifying enough.  Israel seems to enjoy inflicting unnecessary pain and suffering on others.

Conclusion

Now that we know that the forces that run our world are dark triad in nature, what can be done about this?  The only way to stop such people is through raising the awareness of the public as to the evil nature of these dark triad institutions.  The world right now is at a very low state of awareness, meaning that most people don’t see anything wrong with how the world is run.  Most people don’t see anything unnatural about world leaders who scuttle peace efforts, who start wars and threaten to start wars, who exhibit inflated egos and believe themselves above the law, and who keep the world in never-ending chaos.  When we start seeing that this is not normal, then we will stop remaining silent and start demanding change.  It’s like growing up in a family where the parents are mentally ill.  When you are young, you accept their unstable behaviour as just how things are, because that is all you have ever known.  But when you grow up, and the true horror of your parents’ behaviour sinks in, you can finally break away from their control as you recognise how much chaos and suffering their mental illness has caused you.  This is what needs to happen in the world.  We need to start understanding that the chaos in the world is not accidental.  It is being caused by individuals and institutions with dark triad personality disorder, and it is time we broke free from their control.