How can psychoanalytic interpretations of political situations have effects as actions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8971254 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael Rustin (University of East London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 105 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 398-404 |
| Publication date | 2024-05-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The International Journal of Psychoanalysis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7578 • E-ISSN: 1745-8315 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00207578.2024.2350214 |
| PMID | 39008043 |
| OpenAlex | W4400650398 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 6 |
This article examines the difficulties of making use of psychoanalytic insights to understand and influence political events. In clinical practice, it has often been possible to bring about understanding and change in patients, and in that context, immense developments in psychoanalytic theories and techniques have taken place. But there is no parallel tradition giving rise to the interpretation of unconscious political phenomena although there have been outstanding contributions of this kind by individuals, beginning with Freud's work on group psychology. There have been valuable psychoanalytic understandings of broad social changes, but effective interventions in "here and now" political situations have been few. Some examples of these include Keynes's understanding of the economic consequences of the peace of 1918 which were seen to be relevant mainly after the later peace of 1945 and Mitscherlichs' analysis in the1970s of the German people's "inability to mourn" the catastrophes of the Nazi period. The article concludes with reflections on the conditions which might facilitate effective interpretations of political situations by psychoanalysts today
Context (archaeology · Epistemology · German · Interpretation (philosophy · Nazism · Political science · Politics · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Sociology · Unconscious mind · Eastern European Communism and Reforms · History · Law · Philosophy · Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, and Politics · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |