Just how do you deal with a mad man?

We are now just over a week into the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it seems more and more obvious that in Vladimir Putin we are not dealing with a rational person.

Several world leaders have attempted to convince him that this venture into a non- threatening neighbor is folly, yet none have managed to convince him to tell his forces to step down.

Apart from Belarus, there isn't a country on the planet that supports this act of aggression. Despite this, the Russian propaganda machine is in full swing.

The people of Russia are being told this is not a war but a special military operation. How many people believe this obvious lie is not clear but my guess is that it won't be many.

The common belief is that Putin has a very tenuous grip on reality due in part to his dependence on a small group of cohorts in whom he trusts.

Just what they are telling him, heaven knows, but it's a pretty safe bet that's its about as far away from the whole picture as you can possibly get.

Sadly we have seen this situation play out many times.

Hosni Mubarak was still being told the people loved him when there were riots on the streets during the Arab spring. Idi Amin was also delusional regarding how he felt “his” people felt about him.

Even Hitler during the last few days in the bunker was convinced that things were much better than they actually were and that help was on the way.?Sadly, no one was brave enough to tell it like it really was.

Could this be what's happening now??Is Putins behaviour explained by his complete misunderstanding of reality? Or is he just a madman?

Someone who has no regard for others or the potentially horrifying consequences of his actions? If this is the case then we should all be worried. It's almost impossible to reason with someone in this frame of mind.

Politicians from the West have a completely different mindset and cannot see that the measures they have put in place are very unlikely to have the desired effect.

So what do you do when you are dealing with someone the Putin? There are several schools of thought.

The you must stand up to a bully approach.

We've all heard this argument. Advocates believe that the only way to overcome a bully is to fight back. For most of us this is based on our playground experience of finally fighting back against the kid who has been taking our pocket money everyday.

But is that really a sensible option? With our nemesis at school the worst potential outcome is a bloody nose. What about when the bully you are dealing with has access to one of the world's largest nuclear arsenals? Are you prepared to risk him using it?

Another approach is appeasement.

History has shown that this approach seldom works. Tyrants tend to say what you want to hear and then carry on exactly as before.

Some endorse sanctions as the only way forward.

Whilst they can be effective they often take time. Their success is also based on those involved being concerned for the well-being of those that sanctions will impact, normally the person on the street. It would seem that Putin has little or no regard for “his” people and they are often used as pawns in his game of human chess. Neither is he likely to bow to public pressure as he has shown a complete distain for the opinion of others and his reputation on the international stage.

So what does that leave us with.

Negotiation?

Sadly this is likely embolden an already supremely confident despot to embark on this course again as it produced the result he wanted.

Not a great situation with no obvious solution. Meanwhile, everyday the conflict continues, innocent people suffer.

Although it doesn't help right now we need to spot the warning signs much earlier and put measures into place to stop people like Putin becoming so powerful in the first place.

Perhaps we have been a little too keen to buy Russian energy and accept investment from corrupt Russian Oligarch's and now we are paying the price.