Personality and Foreign Policy: The Case of Stalin

International Relations theory seldom uses personality variables directly in the explanation of the actions of states. The proper use of psychopathological personality variables is explored by reconstructing Stalin's paranoia and linking it to a crucial period in world history and the theory of a state's response to surprise: the German attack of 1941. For the sake of greater explanatory depth, variables based on the leader's personality attributes are cautiously recom