Why are people frequently suspicious of their political and corporate leaders? This book examines the psychological roots of political paranoia.

Powerful societal leaders - such as politicians and Chief Executives - are frequently met with substantial distrust by the public. But why are people so suspicious of their leaders? One possibility is that 'power corrupts', and therefore people are right in their reservations. Indeed, there are numerous examples of unethical leadership, even at the highest level, as the Watergate and Enron scandals clearly illustrate. Another possibility is that people are unjustifiably paranoid, as underscored by some of the rather far-fetched conspiracy theories that are endorsed by a surprisingly large...

Looks at cheating, corruption, and concealment to focus on motivations, justifications, influences, and reductions of dishonesty.