Kurzus nemzetközi vendég- és részidős hallgatóknak

Kar

Pedagógiai és Pszichológiai Kar

Szervezet

PPK Pszichológiai Intézet

Kód

PPK-PSZI:85

Cím

Behind the (Iron)Curtain: Hungary from a Political Psychological Perspective

Tervezett félév

Tavaszi

Meghirdetve

2026/27/1

ECTS

4

Nyelv

en

Oktatás célja

Are political transitions predictable? What social climate raises the likelihood of situatiojs leading to transitions? The course will try respond these questions based on the short- and long-term experiences of the transitions in East Central Europe. As an important, and often ignored, aspect of transitions, first we will examine the social psychological preconditions (e.g. unfulfilled expectations, perceptions of the weakening of the regime, feelings of injustice and its exploitation in political ideologies) under which political change and transitions are usually taking place.  The social psychological consequences of the transitions and their political implications will be also discussed (e.g. feelings of insecurity, disappointment, feelings of injustice as a result of  growing social inequalities,  “reverse transitions”). Second, applying both theory and practice, we will examine how these preconditions appeared in East Central European transition processes, how they manifest themselves in political anomalies nowadays, and how they shape the character of the political regimes in the region. Recent polls show extremely strong disappointment in democracy and the free market in many East Central European countries (including Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, but also the Baltic countries and Balkans), and we are going to discuss how these sentiments influence political processes, ideologies and institutions nowadays. In the framework of the course we will analyze the trends in the post-transitional public opinion in CEE on international databases (World Values Survey, European Values Study, European Social Survey, Eurobarometer), with a special focus on how attitudes towards democracy, its institutions and values have developed before and since the regime change. As regards implications for the future, we will discuss  predictions (in different scenarios) for the democratic and social development of the region in general, and in Hungary in particular.

Tantárgy tartalma

The preconditions of political change from a political psychological perspective The political culture in Hungary and patterns in the public opinion The specificities of the transition from Communism to post-communist democracy in CEE (and reverse transitions?) The impacts of the political change on the public opinion, the party systems and the political regimes  Differences and similarities in the experiences regarding the transition The Communist nostalgia in CEE and Hungary  and its impact on politics, policies, and polities

Számonkérés és értékelés

1. attendance 2. participation in class discussions 3. A written exam (essay+ test) at the end of the course

Irodalomjegyzék

Week Topic Readings and additional requirements 1, Introduction: the perspective of political psychology Introduction + the McGuire article +how to read an article.. In Jost, J., & Sidanius, J. (Eds.) Political Psychology. New York: Psychology Press. 1-40., 621-631 (for Thursday). Preconditions of political transition 2. The psychology of Communism: homo “sovieticus?” Schwartz, S. H., & Bardi, A. (1997). Influences of adaptation to communist rule on value priorities in Eastern Europe. Political psychology, 18(2), 385-410. Krauss, S. W. (2002). Romanian authoritarianism 10 years after communism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(9), 1255-1264. 3. The psychology of political change Yakushko, O. (2008). The impact of social and political changes on survivors of political persecutions in rural Russia and Ukraine. Political Psychology, 29(1), 119-130. Schwarz, N., Wänke, M., & Bless, H. (1994). Subjective assessments and evaluations of change: Some lessons from social cognition research. European review of social psychology, 5(1), 181-210. 4. Psychology of revolutions and political violence Feierabend, Ivo K., Nesvold, Betty, Feierabend, Rosalind L.(1970). Political coerciveness and turmoil: A cross-national inquiry. Law and Society Review . 5, (1), 93-118. Lašas, A. (2013). Legacies of Srebrenica: The Dutch Factor in EU‐Serbian Relations. Political Psychology, 34(6), 899-915 Some reading on the current Serbian events Direct experiences with the transition 5. Changes in foreign policy orientation, Hunyady, G. (2002). Stereotypes during the decline and fall of communism. Routledge. (pages 78-93). Herrmann, R. K., & Keller, J. W. (2004). Beliefs, values, and strategic choice: US leaders’ decisions to engage, contain, and use force in an era of globalization. Journal of Politics, 66(2), 557-580. Lantos, N. A., Kovács, K., & Kende, A. (2024). Exclusive victimhood and geopolitical attitudes: A comparative study of Hungary and Serbia. British Journal of Social Psychology, 63(4), 1017–1035. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12825 6. -7. Authoritarianism vs. Collapse of authorities, communist nostalgia Ekman, J., & Linde, J. (2005). Communist nostalgia and the consolidation of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, 21(3), 354-374. Prusik, Monika, and Maria Lewicka. "Nostalgia for Communist Times and Autobiographical Memory: Negative Present or Positive Past?." Political Psychology (2016). De Regt, S., Mortelmans, D., & Smits, T. (2011). Left-wing authoritarianism is not a myth, but a worrisome reality. Evidence from 13 Eastern European countries. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 44(4), 299-308. McFarland, S. G., Ageyev, V. S., & Abalakina-Paap, M. A. (1992). Authoritarianism in the former Soviet Union. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(6), 1004. 8. Ethnic conflicts and the „democratization of hostility”  Bustikova, L. (2015). The democratization of hostility. In Minkenberg, M. (Ed.). The East European Radical Right in the Political Process. Routledge, New York. 59-79. Sekulić, D., Massey, G., & Hodson, R. (2006). Ethnic intolerance and ethnic conflict in the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 29(5), 797-827. Long-term impacts of the transition 9. Political Culture and expectations, feeling of injustice. Csepeli, Gy. (2007). The New Distress of the Central European Small States. Central European Political Science Review, vol.7. No.26.42-48. Csepeli Orkeny, A., & Csepeli, G. (1992). Social change, political beliefs, and everyday expectations in Hungarian society. Knowledge & Policy, 5(2), 68. Wegener, B. (2000). Political Culture and Post-Communist Transition—A Social Justice Approach. Social Justice Research, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2000. Hadarics, M. Motivational and Ideological Aspects of Attitudes Towards Social Equality: The Eastern European Way. 10. Conspiracy theories  and political paranoia Sedek, G., Kofta, M. (2005). Conspiracy stereotypes of Jews during systemic transformation in Poland. International Journal of Sociology, 35(1), 40-64. Krekó, P. (2015). Conspiracy theory as motivated collective cognition. In Milewich, Cichocka: The Psychology of conspiracy. Routledge,  62-76. Krekó, P. (2019). “The Stolen Transition”-Conspiracy Theories in Post-Communist and Post-Democratic Hungary. Social Psychological Bulletin, 14(4), 1-13. 11. Perception of the transition proccess Golec, A.; Skarzynska; K. (2007). Understanding Social Change: Political Psychology in Poland. Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland Pew Research (2009). End of Communism Cheered but Now with More Reservations. http://www.pewglobal.org/2009/11/02/end-of-communism-cheered-but-now-with-more-reservations/

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