The Wonderland model of toxic creativity in leadership: When the "never again" impossible becomes not only possible but actual.

This article examines the phenomenon of creatively toxic leaders—individuals who use dark creativity and dark intelligence to gain and maintain power through manipulation, deception, and exploitation of followers’ psychological needs. These leaders construct an illusory “Wonderland,” promising a restored or idealized future to disempowered or aggrieved groups, while undermining democratic institutions and fostering division and conflict. The article highlights how such leaders adapt their strategies to changing circumstances, often employing authoritarian tactics masked by populist rhetoric, and how followers’ cognitive limitations and emotional needs contribute to their rise. It also discusses challenges in combating creatively toxic leadership, emphasizing the roles of education, critical thinking, and sociopolitical context, while noting that no universal solution currently exists to prevent the recurrence of such toxic governance.