Large-group Identity Research Articles

Large Group Identity, Psychological Borders, and Unofficial Diplomacy

ABSTRACT The current paper is an invited keynote from the 2023 Connect conference of the American Group Psychotherapy Association. The author describes the large group identity and how it develops alongside the individual self. Barriers to coexistence among groups is explored as well as ways of fostering peace.

Politics, psychoanalysis, and large group identity

Since Freud's contributions, psychoanalysis has devoted attention to group phenomena in the field of politics. Volkan and Kernberg stand out today for providing conceptual tools for analyzing political reality. Politicians' work has historically included a share of group manipulation, but today a strong trend towards populism is emerging from the right and the left. This offers a unique opportunity to examine in detail how leaders often promote primitive group dynamics, close to borderline personality organizations. The war in Ukraine offers an opportunity for a psychoanalytic exploration of unconscious conflicts. Some leaders' biographies and actions may offer clues, as well as group phenomena that express the need to protect a valuable identity. The current situation has generated an identity crisis in Europe and beyond. Autocratic tendencies have become stronger and we have lost leaders who sustained a more adult, less primitive European identity. The possible solutions lie in the abandonment of infantile maximalist positions and the adoption of a painful, frustrating, slow – and healthy – integrative attitude, perceiving nuances and shades of gray, both in our own group and in that which we consider Other. Psychoanalysis has the responsibility to put its knowledge at the service of society, also in politics.

Giving birth to the unborn: Processing the experience of sibling abortion and transgenerational trauma in groups

In this article, I will present a personal journey of making sense of the experience of sibling abortion under China’s Once-child Policy and transgenerational trauma related to China’s Cultural Revolution in a group analysis training group. The first part of this paper will reflect on and analyse how groups helped me to claim the identity as a mourner, allowed both the presence and absence of my unborn brother to become real, and offered me reparative family relationships when I dealt with my grief. Drawing on the concept of large-group identity and transgenerational transmission, the second part of this paper will explore how experiences in groups enabled me to discover and understand the transgenerational transmission of trauma related to the Cultural Revolution in my family.

Turkey’s soldier’s matrix: fighting against internal threats and external enemies

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of government-controlled media in provoking the current wave of religious/nationalism in Turkey. We use Friedman’s concept of the Soldier’s Matrix and Volkan’s large group identity as analytical lenses to explain how Turkey’s society is propped up in a constant state of fear driven by an imagined existential threat and promised glory. We argue that the Erdoğan administration fuels polarization instrumentalizes the Sevres trauma and promised glory of the Ottoman Empire. In turn, these imagined fears and promises rationalize populist domestic and foreign policies. Through the example of entertainment television content drawn from Payitaht: Abdülhamid, this paper exemplifies how media facilitates the activation of Turkey’s soldier’s matrix.

A look at Albert Einstein’s question “why war?” with a focus on large-group psychology

ABSTRACT There are observable realistic factors – economic, legal and political – that contribute to initiating and maintaining international conflicts, including starting wars. Behind such factors there are also various psychological elements. This paper recalls correspondence between Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud and Freud’s pessimistic response to the question “Why War?” and explores this question from the point of view of large-group psychology. The term “large group” describes thousands or millions of people, most of whom never see or even know about each other as individuals, but who share many of the same sentiments and the same realistic or fantasied ancestral history. This paper defines a concept, “large-group identity”, and describes how protecting it plays a key role in maintaining and even initiating war-like situations or wars. This paper also considers the psychological make-up of a decision-maker with political power who encourages war.

Klasik Dönem Osmanlı Kimliğinin Yönetsel ve Ekonomik Motivasyonlarına Dair Psikopolitik Saptamalar

The main aim of this study is to analyze the construction process of the Ottoman large group identity within the framework of political, economic, social, cultural structures and the social networks during the classical period. This approach is not new to the discipline of history. However, in this study, we discuss the formation of Ottoman large group identity through an interdisciplinary perspective using theories and concepts of social psychology and sociology. The argument is that the institutional structure and organization of the Ottoman Empire, which regulated the interactions and relations of different social group members, led to the development of a dual identity model. This inclusive organization model, which was shaped by Ottoman rule, strengthened the formation of positive attitudes toward unification/integration between the groups, while preserving sub-identities, and contributing to the simultaneous identification of group members with both superordinate and sub-group identities. Objective representations such as Ottoman Greek, Ottoman Armenian, and Ottoman Jew can be perceived as the most concrete examples of dual identity formations within Ottoman society.

TRAUMA, PREJUDICE, LARGE-GROUP IDENTITY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS.

Escaping Nazi annexation of Austria, Sigmund Freud and his family left there in 1938 to live the rest of their lives in exile in the house now known as the Freud Museum in London. This paper is based upon the author’s Holocaust Day Memorial Lecture delivered virtually at this museum on January 27, 2021, which marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. Besides remembering those who were lost during World War II, the content of this paper includes a description of different types of massive traumas, with a focus on disasters at the hand of the Other, and their impact on individuals and large groups. Sigmund Freud’s ideas about relationships between communities and countries with adjoining territories, as well as large-group psychology, are updated, and individuals’ and large groups’ needs to grasp onto large-group identities is explained and illustrated with case reports.

Sixteen analysands' and large groups' reactions to the COVID‐19 pandemic

The first part of this paper describes 16 analysands' reactions to the COVID‐19 pandemic, from early March 2020 until mid‐January 2021 when this paper was written, when different vaccines for the virus have become available and when the new COVID‐19 variant showed its face. The data come from the author's supervision via telephone of 10 younger psychoanalysts who were treating one or two of these cases. Most of the analysts and their analysands are located in Istanbul, Turkey, others in the United States and one analyst and her patient in Germany. The second part of this paper describes how the initial response to the virus pandemic has increased some of the 16 analysands' investments in their large‐group identities. The pandemic's impact on “border psychology” is also described. Lastly, this paper poses suggestions about the psychoanalyst's role in making helpful suggestions in dealing with the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on large groups.

Large-group psychology and political conflicts: an introduction to the psychosocial work of Vamik Volkan

Professor Volkan responds to questions about the emergence and development of his work as a psychoanalytic consultant and mediator in inter- and intra-national conflict situations. He outlines the circumstances of its beginnings at the University of Virginia and its subsequent growth including the development of interventions based on the ‘Tree Model’. He emphasises the centrality to this informal diplomatic work of the concept of large-group identity, and refers to some of the elaborations of this, for example in the influential concepts of chosen trauma and chosen triumph. He discusses the relationship of this non-clinical application of psychoanalytic ideas to the clinically-based schools of psychoanalytic thought, considers the conditions which lend themselves to effective interventions, and the possibility for improved management of political conflicts.

The Cultural Underpinnings of Subjectivity and Inter-Subjectivity: A Discussion of “Trump Cards and Klein Bottles: On the Collective of the Individual”

In “Trump Cards and Klein Bottles: On the Collective of the Individual,” Dr. González (this issue) argues for the centrality of dynamic and shifting group identifications in shaping our subjectivity and our inter-subjective linking from moment to moment. My commentary about this paper is organized around the themes of cultural dislocation and cultural displacement, experiences related to large-group identifications and identity. These constructs, cultural dislocation and displacement, can deepen our understanding of how inter/intra-group tensions (historic and current) can play a determinative role in shaping individual subjectivity and inter-subjective linking. They complement and amplify claims regarding the centrality of our group identifications on ego functions. They also point toward the determinative impact of context and clashing cultural systems on our object relations and unconscious fantasies. Studying the links between individuals, collectives, and the cultural systems that structure them will deepen our theories and extend our relevance.

LARGE-GROUP IDENTITY, WHO ARE WE NOW? LEADER-FOLLOWER RELATIONSHIPS AND SOCIETAL-POLITICAL DIVISIONS.

This paper aims to explore severe societal-political divisions and interferences with democratic processes and human rights issues in many locations around the world, including in the United States, and examines the role of leader-follower relationships related to such developments. The term "large group" describes hundreds, thousands or millions of people- most of whom will never see or even know about each other as individuals, but who share many of the same sentiments. This paper first describes how a child becomes a member of a large-group and how adults sometimes develop a second type of large-group identity. Looking at such phenomena provides the background data needed to examine the spread of the metaphorical question, "Who are we now?" worldwide, as well as to examine the evolution of present-day authoritarian regimes, extreme right-wing politics and rhetoric, wall-building, and societal-political divisions.

Refugees as the Other: Large-group identity, terrorism and border psychology

On 27 August, 2015 two vessels with 550 migrants on board sank off the Libyan coast, and more than 400 persons were estimated to have drowned. Some credit this event as having coined the phrase ‘European refugee crisis’ that is still used to describe the present refugee situation in Europe. On 13 November 2015 a series of coordinated terrorist attacks took place in Paris and a northern suburb of the city. When a Syrian passport that belonged to an asylum seeker was found near the body of one of the gunmen, fear of Islamic State militants disguised as asylum seekers or refugees spread. This event, linked to similar tragedies that have occurred in many other countries before and since, evolved as a major symbol linking newcomers, and refugees in general, to terrorism and extreme forms of Islam. When observing newcomers and local people in different host countries, in addition to accompanying societal reactions to multiple traumas, medical problems, legal, political, financial and other practical issues and security concerns, there is always an increased investment in large-group identity by both refugees and persons in the host countries. This article does not explore the psychology of asylum seekers, immigrants or refugees. It describes what large-group identity is, how it develops and why a population’s preoccupation with physical borders increases. Its aim is to examine shared psychological processes in European countries and the United States that manifest when perception of newcomers as the dangerous Other takes place.

Return to Sepharad: Is it possible to heal an ancient wound? A reflection on the construction of large-group identity

Spanish parliament recently issued a new law offering Spanish nationality to Sephardic Jews who so desired and could demonstrate a basic knowledge of the Spanish language and culture. This law attempted to redress a five-centuries-old injustice and was expected to unleash both criticism and praise. Surprisingly, reactions in the public or the press were minimal or absent. Reasons for this are explored through a qualitative study with focus groups, which showed ideas that can be grouped into four main categories: ignorance, justice, distrust, and fear. It is hypothesized that the predominantly silent response to the new law might be due to the fact that it touches on an extremely sensible issue: the historically fragmented Spanish identity. A position of negation is constructed, to avoid deep anxieties related to the fragile core of a collective identity built from many “others” forced to the refuge of an introspection that protects them from the conviction of not fulfiling the ideal identity status, known by all but reached by none. All those “others” have mixed their bloods with the Old Christians along the centuries, possibly transmitting a profound insecurity about their personal and collective identity that might contribute to understanding current social reactions.

International societal movements, the other, psychological borders, and large-scale voter behavior during the 2016 United States presidential election

The present world has evolved as a global neighborhood. Cultural and religious confrontations, floods of refugees, and acts of terrorism have increased concerns regarding large-group identities. The metaphorical question “Who are we now?” has spread worldwide. This paper explores how this question has influenced a large number of American voters during the recent presidential election.

Living in Germany as a Kanak: Some Thoughts About Nonbelonging.

Kanak is a swear word used by Germans for Turkish migrants. From the beginning of Turkish migration sixty years up to now the meaning of this swear word has changed. The word Kanak transformed from a swear word to a name that is carried now "with proud defiance" by the children and grandchildren of the first-generation migrants. Kanak became a synonym for a new and different "German-ness." Introducing and relating to the concepts of the "internal racial other" of Fahkry Davids, the "large group identity" of Vamık Volkan, and his own conception of hybrid identity development, the author analyzes the impact of such identity transformations on the "migrants" as well as on the "natives" and in particular on the host large group.

How Do We Transform our Large-Group Identities?

While Jung was particularly critical of groups, he also had a vision of humans as a selfaware, problem-solving being. In this paper I explore his interest in and critique of, or prejudice against, groups. I raise the issue of whether it is possible to transform consciously our large-group identities, thus making them more morally responsive to the conditions they find themselves in. I focus specifically on recent social science research regarding the psychocultural function of emotion and group theory and practice that could be used by a new generation of “psychocultural practitioners” to develop the theory and practices of large-group transformation that would aid in the moral development of a group’s conscience. I also propose that the Jungian communities could participate in the founding of such a distinctive vocation, which would formalize numerous informal and innovative practices that many are already engaged in.

Enemies of the People: Latin-American Populism, Political Myth, and the Psychodynamics of Conspiracy Thinking

This article examines Latin-American populism from a psychonalytical perspective and suggests a possible understanding of the role played by group dynamics, such as group regression and large-group identity, in the rise of conspiracy thinking associated with populist mobilization. It argues that conspiracy thinking is an inextricable feature of populist movements, since both come about as interrelated manifestations of a defensive psychological response intertwined with a preexisting political mythology that resonates in times of institutional crisis, whenever personal and collective identities are at stake.

Trauma as ideology: Accountability in the “intractable conflict”

This paper explores several paradigmatic approaches to understanding the causes of the intractability of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. It elaborates a perspective that illuminates how the traumatic histories of both peoples construct a victim state of mind, whose paranoid schizoid mechanisms are exacerbated by the ongoing traumatogenic environment of violence and war, thus foreclosing capacities for peacemaking. After critiquing the trauma paradigm’s assumptions of psychological symmetry and shared responsibility for the conflict, the paper develops an alternative social psychoanalytic model that situates the unconscious processes produced by trauma within the specificities of history, large group identity, ideological hegemony and power hierarchies that shape the psychological experience of both peoples and account for the complex systemic asymmetries that impede the possibilities for a just reconciliation of their tragic conflict.

CYPRUS TURKISH FAIRY TALES: GLIMPSE OF A HARMONIOUS PAST.

On the island of Cyprus, believed to be the birthplace of Aphrodite, the Muslim minority (settled there following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571) and Orthodox Christians (the native majority) lived together in peace for hundreds of years. However, as a result of ethnic conflict in the late 1950s, the Muslim Cypriot Turks established their own political state in the north of the island in 1974, and Cyprus was divided into northern Turkish and southern Greek sections. This paper attempts to examine historical, religious, cultural and psychological aspects of the relationship between these two large groups, prior to recent conflicts, by studying fairy tales told by Turkish Cypriots about a hundred years ago. It is hoped that this paper will encourage similar studies of other communities where different large-group identities live side by side, and that such studies may support their peaceful co-existence.

(Foundation-)Matrix Reloaded—Some Remarks on a Useful Concept and Its Pitfalls

In a preliminary remark those brilliant—mostly Jewish–German speaking intellectuals of the 20th-century in central Europe are acknowledged, who formed the background—the matrix—from which Foulkes developed his ideas of matrix and foundation matrix. After recalling the definition and summarizing the notion of foundation matrix, this concept is discussed, comparing it to other theories that aim at large scale transpersonal processes, namely the ‘social unconscious’ and ‘large group identity’. The article closes pleading for very precise group analytic thinking, advising against the possibility that the concepts—if their process character is neglected—could be used to underpin a right wing/fascist argument.