http://samvak.tripod.com/pp27.html
The Holocaust was a massive trauma NOT because of its dimensions -
but because GERMANS, the epitome of Western civilization, have
turned on the Jews, the self-proclaimed missionaries of Western
civilization in the Levant and Arabia. It was the betrayal that
mattered. Rejected by East (as colonial stooges) and West (as agents
of racial contamination) alike - the Jews resorted to a series of
narcissistic defences reified by the State of Israel. The long term
occupation of territories (metaphorical or physical) is a classic
narcissistic trait (of "annexation" of the other). The Six Days War
was a war of self defence - but the swift victory only exacerbated
the narcissistic defences. Mastery over the Palestinians became an
important component in the psychological makeup of the nation
(especially the more rightwing and religious elements) because it
constitutes "Narcissistic Supply".
Bin Laden (and by extension Islamic fundamentalism) is
the narcissistic complement of the State of Israel. His
narcissistic defences are fuelled by unrequited humiliation
(Millon's "compensatory narcissism"). The humiliation is the outcome
of a grandiosity gap between reality and grandiose fantasies,
between actual inferiority and a delusional sense of superiority
(and cosmic mission), between his sense of entitlement and his
incommensurate achievements, skills, and accomplishments.
When narcissists are faced with the disintegration of their
narcissistic "infrastructure" (their False Self) - they
decompensate. I have outlined the possible
psychodynamic reactions here:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/npd/87772
Narcissism is always concomitant with the "civilizing"
components of colonialism ("White Man's Burden") -
though not with the mercantilist elements.
"Pathological narcissism is a well defined (and phenomenological)
mental health theoretical construct. No doubt, narcissists engage
in anti-Other discourse and other virulent and pernicious
narratives. But the existence of such a discourse is not a
DETERMINANT of pathological narcissism - merely its manifestation.
What GIVES RISE to the grandiosity gap IS socio- economic reality.
The gap is between the REAL and the IDEAL, between the ACTUAL and
the (self- DELUSIONAL and FANTASIZED. Socio-economic factors breed
narcissistic injury and narcissistic rage.