When personal grievance replaces state strategy

In this interpretation of dictatorship, the boundary between a ruler's personal interests and the state's interests becomes blurred. The comparison with medieval monarchy shows how a personal slight can become a cause of national conflict. Diplomats still have to represent national interests while dealing with people they dislike or who have insulted them. Nazi foreign policy is criticized here for treating resistance to Hitler's aims as hostility toward Germany itself. If Ribbentrop shouted at Morris as reported, the outburst illustrates that personalization of a diplomatic encounter. The resulting difficulty is a failure to consider another state's interests and likely response.