In Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse, Dr.
Luke Kemp attributes the cause of civilizational failures in 400
societies over the course of 5,000 years of history to the
contaminating effects of leaders who possess the “dark triad” of
narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellian manipulation. A related but
equally intriguing perspective comes from Dr. Leanne ten Brinke, a
professor of psychology and director of the University of B.C.’s Truth
and Trust Lab, who has done extensive studies on the behaviour of
convicted criminals (University of British Columbia Magazine,
Spring/Summer 2025, “The ‘Strongmen’ Who are Breaking Democracies” by Jared Downing).