Putin vs Al-Qaeda: How to negotiate with psychopaths

Putin’s aggression has more in common with terrorism than statesmanship and demands an appropriate response

An autocrat, implacably propelled by a geopolitical objective to be achieved at any cost. A bully, willing to use extreme violence towards those ends. A psychopath, completely devoid of empathy for the human suffering they cause. And an extremist, convinced that their fundamentalist view is right. Am I referring to Vladimir Putin? Yes. But I could just as easily be talking about Osama Bin Laden.

By the time Al-Qaeda’s hijackers had flown passenger aircraft into the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11th, 2001, immediately making Bin Laden the world’s most wanted man, his global network was already well established. The world was playing catch-up in trying to stop his organisation’s flows of human and financial capital, as well as countering his strategic media messaging.

The same is true of Putin. Russian kleptocrats and oligarchs have, with Putin’s approval, taken money out of Russia and spent it globally. Some of this has been used to buy media, leisure and financial institutions, which become tools of Russian influence. It is estimated that Russians own some £1.5bn of property in London alone, much of which is thought to be the proceeds of crime, corruption, and human rights abuses. That might seem a large sum, but it pales in comparison to the £600bn ($800bn) of state-backed Russian assets held outside of Russia worldwide.

This laundering has been allowed to flourish because of greed among those here and abroad who profit from it — including politicians. The result is a dependency on Russian money — not to mention its oil, gas, and minerals — that stops us from confronting its aggression when necessary. We lost control a long time ago, and the sleeper cells are already in place, just as they were with Al-Qaeda twenty years ago.

Psychopaths do not respond to dialogue. They seek to dominate and exploit those whom they perceive to be weaker, in order to reach their desired goals. Usually, this is personal gain at the expense of others. They are not interested in discussion, except as a means to deceive, manipulate, and further their own agendas. Compromise is not in their vocabularies.

As it was with Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda, so it is with Putin’s Russia. The West learnt from its attempts to counter Al-Qaeda when it came to tackling ISIS a decade later. So let us learn now. My experience as a psychiatrist has taught me that the only way to stop a psychopath is to make the costs of their aggression greater than its rewards. We may be playing catch-up with Russia, just as we were with Bin Laden post-9/11, but we still have the chance to shut down that power.

A concerted global effort to counter Russian asset hoarding and control will do more to reduce Putin’s influence than any amount of attempted negotiation. Cutting off the financial strength that allows Putin to terrorise his enemies is the only language he will understand. We should act swiftly and decisively, before his terrorism extends beyond the borders of Ukraine.