Psychology and Politics : Intersections of Science and Ideology in the History of Psy-Sciences

Psy-sciences (psychology, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, pedagogy, criminology, special education, etc.) have been connected to politics in different ways since the early twentieth century. Here in twenty-two essays scholars address a variety of these intersections from a historical perspective. The chapters include such diverse topics as the cultural history of psychoanalysis, the complicated relationship between psychoanalysis and the occult, and the struggles for dominance between the various schools of psychology. They show the ambivalent positions of the "psy" sciences in the dictatorships and authoritarian regimes of Nazi Germany, East European communism, Latin-American military dictatorships, and South African apartheid, revealing the crucial role of psychology in legitimating and "normalizing" these regimes. The authors also discuss the ideological and political aspects of mental health and illness in Hungary, Germany, post-WW1 Transylvania, and Russia. Other chapters describe the attempt by critical psychology to understand the production of academic, therapeutic, and everyday psychological knowledge in the context of the power relations of modern capitalist societies.

Psy-sciences (psychology, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, pedagogy, criminology, special education, etc.) have been connected to politics in diverse ways during the 20th and 21st centuries. Besides episodes in the history of psychoanalysis in politically troubled times, the chapters in the book explore the full variety of "psy" disciplines in dictatorships and authoritarian regimes such as Nazi Germany, East European communist regimes, a Latin-American military dictatorship, and the South African apartheid regime, discussing psychology's role in legitimating and "normalizing" dictatorships. The essays' authors also explain the ideological and political foundations of ideas concerning mental health and illness in Russia, Hungary, post-war Transylvania, and Germany. Currents of critical psychology are also discussed, which try to understand how academic, therapeutic, and everyday psychological knowledge is produced within the power relations of modern—market or state—capitalist societies.