Editor Interview: The Psychology of Populism Posted on: February 24, 2021 Understanding the Tribal Challenge to Liberal Democracy
The Psychology of Populism explores the psychological reasons for the rise of populism, featuring contributions from leading international researchers in the fields of psychology and political science. One of the editors of this new book, Joseph P. Forgas, was kind enough to spend some time answering some of the most pressing questions about the phenomenon of Populism and the challenges it forces liberal democracies to confront.
1. What inspired you to write the book? Our inspiration for this book came from a deeply felt concern about the recent rise of populist movements both in liberal democracies, and in less developed nations, matched with our conviction that social psychology has a major contribution to make to explaining the rapid recent rise of tribalism all over the world. In my case especially, I have lived in totalitarian systems for part of my life, and so my concern about the survival of liberal democracy also has a deeply felt personal significance, as the following brief video should illustrate: