Discuss The Narcissism of Minor differences in Qatar :Security Problems, Public diplomacy, and de-securitization
The Narcissism of Minor differences
Narcissism of Minor differences.Qatar was fiercely targeted by the media and public opinion smear campaign led against it by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt in addition to an unprecedented embargo by its neighbors. The ferocity of the feud and the fact that the logic of the attackers was blinded by anger and possibly by envy and joyously. This can be conceptualized by Freud’s theory known as the narcissism of minor differences. Freud had predicted that the worst conflicts are more likely to occur among groups and nations that are culturally closer to one another. According to McKay and McKay (2015), Freud proposed that it was “communities with adjoining territories, and related to each other in other ways as well, who are engaged in constant feuds and in ridiculing each other.” This theory, which the researcher will deploy better known as the narcissism of minor differences, may perhaps explain the unusual intensity and ferocity of the campaign waged by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt against Qatar.
The narcissism of minor differences can also be made use of in determining the manner through which self-identity develops. This is especially the case considering that individuals have ended up forming groups that they believe hold similar characteristics and make them superior to others. A consequence has been that some groups have developed centuries of hatred and aggression towards one another to such an extent that they have not been able to determine the extremely greater number of similarities between them. The case of the Shia and Sunni divide among Muslims is an extreme example of the manner through which the narcissism of minor differences can end up disrupting the lives of individuals to such an extent that the way that they self-identify is based on the minor differences rather than the greater number of similarities between them (Nuruzzaman, 2017).
In summary, the narcissism of minor differences can be considered an extremely destructive force in human societies. This is because it leads individuals towards a false sense of superiority and uniqueness that makes them blind to the similarities that they have with others. A consequence is that it magnifies differences that are virtually non-existent and makes individuals fail to come together so that their similarities can enable them to build a more cohesive and just society that cater for all their needs. The example of the continuous disputes between the GCC states show that getting into a situation where the narcissism of minor differences is prominent is easier than getting out of it. (Brodić, Amelio, and Milivojević, 2015; Reidy, et al, 2015; Fosshage and Hershberg, 2014)
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