Human Aggression, War and Genocide The Psychological Roots of Violence

Human Aggression, War and Genocide explores sociopolitical phenomena through the lens of psychoanalysis and neuroscience, concentrating on concepts like aggression, leadership, and the psychology of ethnic, national, religious, and ideological large groups. Drawing inspiration from the famous “ Why war?” exchange between Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud that examined the psychological roots of war and violence, the authors expand on that discussion to examine racism, large-group dynamics, chosen traumas and chosen glories, and the relationship between leaders and their followers. Offering psychological analysis and insight into historical and contemporary conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, they provide a novel insights for understanding the psychological conditions that lead to large-scale human aggression, war, and genocide.

Kevin Volkan EdD, PhD, MPH, is professor of psychology at California State University Channel Islands. He is also Adjunct Professor in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at California Lutheran University and adjunct faculty in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program at Pacifica Graduate Institute. He holds doctorates in clinical and quantitative psychology, is a graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health, and a former Harvard Medical School faculty member. Vamik D. Volkan, MD, is an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia and an Emeritus Senior Erik Erikson Scholar at the Erikson Institute of the Austen Riggs Center. He is the Emeritus President of the International Dialogue Initiative and a former President of the Turkish-American Neuropsychiatric Society, the International Society of Political Psychology, the Virginia Psychoanalytic Society and the American College of Psychoanalysts. Dr. Volkan was a member of the International Negotiation Network under the directorship of former President Jimmy Carter.