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View all search resultsParadox of protection: Why strong leaders need 'red folders'
By building a wall to keep the leader happy, they effectively block him from seeing reality.
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President Prabowo Subianto (center) speaks to Coordinating Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (left), State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Regulatory Agency head Dony Oskaria (second left) and state asset fund Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani (second right) and Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf during an inspection on Jan. 1 to a temporary housing site for residents affected by floods and landslides in Aceh Tamiang regency, Aceh. (Courtesy of Presidential Secretariat/Rusman)
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n the political realm, there is often a fascination with the idea of a "strong man", a leader who can cut through complicated rules to bring order to our democracy. For such a leader, dealing with an enemy is often the easier task. A powerful president usually knows exactly what to do when attacked from the outside. If an opposition party criticizes a policy, the leader can push them aside. If the media reports negative news, the leader’s team has tools to pressure them. If foreign powers try to interfere, the leader can effectively use nationalism to bring the people together.
However, history suggests a surprising lesson: the greatest danger to a strong leader may not be the enemy they fight in public. Instead, it might be the silence inside the palace. While they can manage attacks from the outside, they are often defenseless against a loyal aide who is afraid to deliver bad news.
This dynamic could create what we might call the "paradox of protection”.
The more a staff tries to shield the president from stress and criticism, the more they might increase the risk of failure. By building a wall to keep the leader happy, they effectively block him from seeing reality. Ultimately, a president may stop making decisions based on the real world and begin to govern based on a fantasy created by his staff.
We can see the terrible risks of fearing the truth in the history of China under Mao Zedong. During the Great Famine, officials were seemingly too terrified to make Chairman Mao angry. When crops failed, they reported record-breaking harvests just to keep him happy. Because Mao believed there was plenty of food, he continued to export grain while his people starved.
A similar danger arises when staff support bad ideas just to please their boss. We saw this with Idi Amin in Uganda in 1972. When Amin decided to kick out 80,000 Asian business owners, his team cheered instead of warning him. By ignoring the fact that these people supported the economy, they allowed an immediate economic collapse.
Finally, loyal aides often try to protect a leader's feelings by blaming others for failures. This was clear under Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Even though bad management caused massive inflation, his staff refused to admit it. Instead, they blamed Western countries and "foreign enemies," allowing the crisis to continue for another ten years.
