The Political Psychology of Transitions, Disruptions, and Interruptions: Understanding Crises, Normality and Their Psychological Impacts

The 2021 Political Psychology Section addresses pressing political phenomena, focusing on the psychological processes and mechanisms involving transitions, disruptions, and interruptions that shape our political realities. It is sponsored by the Political Psychology Standing Group and for the fifteenth year running (since 2005) it brings together scholars from political science, psychology, international relations, sociology and political communication from Europe and the world, who share a common passion: the understanding of psychological determinants of political decision making. For our 2021 programme, we focus on the changing realities brought about by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the USA elections, BRexit and other key events. We invite scholars to explore the political psychological origins, processes and consequences of transitions, disruptions, interruptions, crises and change, with theoretical and empirical tools that examine the formation of political preferences, choices and attitudes, the emotional and conflictual politics of our times, issues of identity and nationalism, multiculturalism vs. the politics of exclusion and marginalization, the challenges of extremism and terrorism, the implications of displacement and traumas, and the management of national and international conflicts. Our Political Psychology section invites theoretically driven empirical research papers from senior and junior international scholars. Our aim is to further discussion and research in political psychology across scientific communities on the above topics. Upon completion of the conference, the authors of selected papers from the panels will be considered to contribute to the second volume of Advances in Global Political Psychology (first volume now published under the title Palgrave Handbook of Global Political Psychology).