A global threat: “Political Narcissism”!
The First International Political Psychology Workshop was organised by the Political Psychology Application and Research Centre at Üsküdar University. The online workshop addressed topics such as research conducted in the field of political psychology in Turkey, academic collaborations, institutional partnerships and international visibility.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, who pointed out that political psychology should address political narcissism, which has become a global threat, said, ‘There is ethnic narcissism in the events we are currently experiencing in the Middle East. Sometimes it can also be done by glorifying national identity. They use historical traumas and successes for narcissistic purposes.’
Professor Dr. Deniz Ülke Kaynak: ‘Time does not only have an economic or political spirit; it also has a psychological spirit.’
The First International Political Psychology Workshop, organised by the Political Psychology Application and Research Centre at Üsküdar University, was held online. The workshop addressed topics such as studies conducted in the field of political psychology in Turkey, academic collaborations, institutional partnerships and international visibility.
The workshop, which featured assessments on a wide range of topics from the narcissistic traits of leaders to the rise in social anxiety, and from interdisciplinary collaborations to publication and educational activities, aimed to make political psychology more effective and widespread in Turkey.
The opening speeches of the workshop were delivered by Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Üsküdar University, and Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Kaynak, Dean of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences at Üsküdar University and Director of the Centre for Applied Research in Political Psychology.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: ‘Brainstorming is important’
Referring to the founding purpose of the Centre for Applied Political Psychology and Research, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated, "It was necessary for projects to emerge from here, for various observations to be made, and for international connections to be established. Our infrastructure and our faculty have matured sufficiently in this regard. I hope this workshop will later turn into international conferences. To this end, it is important to brainstorm first."
‘Political psychology should also address political narcissism, which has become a global threat’
Stating that the narcissistic traits of leaders should be examined within a scientific framework, Prof. Dr. Tarhan continued:
Political psychology should also address political narcissism, which has now become a global threat. Last year, during communication days, we discussed digital narcissism. The narcissism caused by digitalisation was the main theme of the conference. Today, we will discuss leadership. We will discuss the narcissistic traits of leaders. It is necessary to discuss these within a scientific framework. For example, a parent can be a narcissistic leader. A company manager can be one. A country's leader can be one. These individuals have fundamental characteristics. They expect excessive praise. They constantly want to be appreciated. They are intolerant of criticism, defensive, and aggressive. Then they always take credit for every success and blame others for mistakes. They struggle to empathise and behave in a power-focused manner, which is the most dangerous aspect. Right now, in the events we are experiencing in the Middle East, there is ethnic narcissism. Sometimes it can also be achieved by glorifying national identity. They use historical traumas and successes for narcissistic purposes. This instrumentalisation of global narcissism is very dangerous, as it leads to collective narcissism."
“We must act with the intention of seeking the truth”
Pointing out that we must seek the truth using a scientific methodology, Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, “We must act with the intention of seeking the truth. The theme of our upcoming conference could be justice. Because the solution to narcissism is related to establishing a fair balance and drawing fair boundaries. It could be an approach in the style of justice psychology. We will tailor a robe, but we cannot know who it will fit. However, we are in a position to measure, tailor and explain things there."
Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Kaynak: ‘We saw that there are people working in this field from all over Turkey.’
Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Kaynak, Dean of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences at Üsküdar University, said, "The main purpose of this workshop is not so much to discuss a particular theme, but rather to talk about collaborations, how we can support each other, how we can develop joint projects, and what we can do. We opened our Centre for Political Psychology at Üsküdar University under the leadership of Professor Nevzat. He showed us the way first. I had actually come to Üsküdar University just to establish this centre when I returned from Oxford. We established our centre in 2018. We conduct research and studies within our own capacity. In fact, we saw that there are people working in this field all over Turkey, that we have professors. Today, our friends, academics, and colleagues working in political psychology all over the world will share valuable information with us."
“People have normalised anxiety”
Stating that political behaviour must be examined to understand the social mood, Prof. Dr. Kaynak said, “The spirit of the times is not only economic or political; it also has a psychological dimension. In the period we live in, there is a community of people who are more pessimistic, more lonely, more alienated, more anxious, and have now normalised anxiety. In other words, there are mental illness budgets worth trillions of dollars. By 2030, the global cost of mental disorders will be 16 trillion dollars. Currently, this figure is 5 trillion dollars. So, looking at it, the fact that it will rise to 16 trillion dollars within 5 years means that they also expect humanity to face a very serious psychological problem. In other words, we will be talking about billions of people who will not be able to live without antidepressants in the coming period. It is important to understand the social mood and to know that this is also at the root of our current political behaviour."
‘Our doctoral students have made significant contributions.’
Discussing the work of the Centre for Political Psychology, Prof. Dr. Kaynak said, "As the Centre for Political Psychology, our doctoral students were generally from the psychology department, as we award doctorates in psychology, so they were involved. At first, when the political psychology course was introduced to the psychology department, they objected quite strongly, asking what it had to do with them. However, they were so pleased afterwards that some transformed their theses, wrote articles, and even said it was very beneficial when seeing their own patients, that it helped them develop a new perspective. So it greatly contributed to both psychology education and doctoral education. We, as the Political Psychology Centre at Üsküdar University, have also published four books. We published two during the COVID period. Then we published one under the title “Psychopolitical Readings on Space”. We combined sociology with political psychology. We continue our editorial work. In the book we wrote most recently with Professor Hadiye, “From Trauma to Victory”, we again mentioned the name of our Centre for Political Psychology. We will continue with such publications."
Prof. Dr. Havva Kök Arslan: ‘Our goal is to raise good people’
Prof. Dr. Havva Kök Arslan, Head of the Department of Political Science and International Relations (English) at the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences at Üsküdar University, spoke at the workshop. Prof. Dr. Arslan said, "Peace studies is an umbrella term for political psychology. There, it is called peace psychology, not political psychology. There is a normative stance there. Because we cannot be impartial there. In other words, it is said that being a good person, being a peaceful person, is fundamental. Therefore, our goal is to raise good people, to raise a good society, and from there to achieve global peace. When we focus too much on political psychology, we start to question our own society. Why are our leaders like this, or why is America's leader like that? However, we need to look at the system that produces these things. Political psychology seems to me to be one of these tools. That's why I try to do very different things at the strategic research centre."
Associate Professor Hadiye Yılmaz Odabaşı: ‘Let us support each other in every way’
Associate Professor Hadiye Yılmaz Odabaşı, Head of the History Department at the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences at Üsküdar University, stated, "The field of political psychology is actually extremely interesting. Unfortunately, it is a field that has not truly developed in our country. Yet, as all my professors have stated, the reality is that many sciences cannot truly achieve results independently of psychology. While most of us are aware of this, unfortunately, no real steps have been taken in our country regarding political psychology, which is an interdisciplinary field. I believe we will continue on this path and accomplish quite a lot. That is why we held this meeting. Our discussions will continue. Our goal is to organise political psychology symposiums. In addition, we would like to publish our work together. It is not easy to get political psychology articles published in journals. So let us support each other in every way. This is the fundamental goal of our centre. With this meeting, I see that there is a desire and a will in this regard. Hopefully, together we will take our field to much greater heights."
Dr Hazal Ayas, Assistant Professor: ‘As the Psychology Department, we will provide all kinds of support’
Dr. Hazal Ayas, Head of the Psychology Department at the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences at Üsküdar University, stated, “I actually work in the fields of clinical psychology and sports psychology. As Deniz mentioned, I also contributed to a section on the psychopolitics of stadiums in the book Psychopolitical Readings on Space, published by the Political Psychology group. There, I delved into both sports sociology and political psychology. Therefore, my familiarity with the field is much more limited than yours. In psychology, we study personality theories, theories about whether the birth order of a child supports or opposes revolutions, and in sports psychology, we study leadership, motivation, and competition. None of these are entirely independent of the topics you are discussing. Therefore, I am here to say that we, as the Psychology Department, will provide all the support we can. Our department is open to any kind of support. We will contribute to the studies as much as we can."
Prof. Dr. Alim Yılmaz: ‘Understanding the world through philosophy is no easy matter’
Prof. Dr. Alim Yılmaz, Head of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Istanbul Medeniyet University, said, "Understanding the world, humanity, and society through philosophy is no easy matter. Alongside this, we seriously need psychology and a sociological perspective. During my doctoral studies, postmodernist tendencies were in vogue. The fundamental assumption of postmodernism is essentially an approach that brings the agent to the fore. That is, an approach that emphasises the individual as opposed to modernity. I always tried to understand this. In doing so, my path naturally led me to social psychology. We try to understand the individual, the leader, personality traits. We call this, in short, structure. We could also call it society, culture, tradition, history, language. Therefore, we need to try to understand this within a whole."
Prof. Dr. Özlem Gümüş: ‘It's a wonderful feeling to be training leaders here.’
Louisiana State University faculty member Prof. Dr. Özlem Gümüş says, "I teach courses in the doctoral programme on leadership studies. I strive to train leaders. In other words, I try to connect with my students who are in leadership positions in every field in America. The age range is really wide. I have students from their 20s to their 60s and 70s. I try to teach them leadership. It's not just about political leaders. That's why I don't feel very distant from political leadership. Perhaps I live in one of the societies that most needs to be reformed. That's why I'm truly proud of the work I do; it's a wonderful feeling to be cultivating leaders here. In political leadership, we generally work through case studies. Since it's not really possible to work with hundreds of people who fit that profile, I try to work more through individuals and case studies."