The course “Psychology of Politics” is designed for seven weeks. It includes seven modules (thematic sections): six theoretical ones and one applied one, addressed to humanitarian specialists working within political structures.
In the course of the “Psychology of Politics” program, students are expected to know :
- …with basic concepts of politics and political science, such as “power,” “leadership,” “political participation,” etc., through the lens of psychology;
- … how people’s views and attitudes translate into actions that shape the lives of millions, how power works, why people obey each other, why those who go to the polls go to the polls and why those who never went before go to the polls; how it turns out that for many of their fellow citizens an unknown person becomes a center of hope, a leader, and they are ready to follow him, and other manifestations and rationales of the “politics are people” thesis;
- …what a specialist – political scientist, psychologist, sociologist, PR specialist – can and should not do within the framework of political structures, and what the opportunities and limitations of his/her work are.
We hope that as a result of the course you will be better able to:
- be able to: navigate the concepts of political psychology, detect and interpret the phenomena of the social process, having its origin in the psychological features of the historical period, subjects and objects of political activity, organize their own scientific and practical work in the management systems of social and political processes as psychologist-consultants political leaders, deputies, state and economic leaders;
- know: the distinctive features of perception, thinking, behavior, activity, which constitute the content of political psychology, the basic foundations of modern theories in the field of psychology of politics.
COURSE PROGRAM
POWER
Problems of the psychology of power: the psychological origins of dominance and subordination. Legitimacy of power and the ways of its formation, psychological.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
The level of participation of ordinary citizens in political life: voting in elections, participation in rallies, etc.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
People’s assimilation and interiorization of written and unwritten rules and norms that exist outside the framework of formal law, the formation of perceptions of them as fair or as unfair, corresponding or not corresponding to the interests and characteristics of “people like me. The process of political socialization in different types of societies. The impact of different features of socialization on socio-political change.
LEADERSHIP .
Features of political leaders – their motivation, ways of communication with followers and team: what leaders give to their followers and what becomes the cause of their inevitable disappointment with the leader.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF REFORM AND SOCIAL CHANGE
An analysis of the impact of people’s moods and attitudes on events in their countries and regions: from the results of routine elections to revolutions.