Applying social psychology to contemporary armed conflict: towards better understanding, preparation and action [symposium]
(2026) EASP 2026 General Meeting — Location: Strasbourg (30.June.2026)
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- Abstract
- (en) How can social psychology help us understand, prepare, and act in regards to contemporary armed conflicts? Addressing this question is crucial as the state of world affairs show a trend of mounting tensions: Russia is waging a war on Ukrainian soil, and the prospect of another deflagration is increasingly becoming a real possibility. At the same time, social psychologists still produce too few research focusing on armed conflicts, outside the special case of intractable -and often- post-conflict contexts. To fill in this gap, we convened experts from all over Europe whose works directly pertain to armed conflicts. This symposium proposes to showcase research that has direct theoretical and applied relevance. First, it will introduce data gathered from various contexts (e.g., high-intensity warzones, counterinsurgency) to discuss how psychological experiences of warfare (i.e., past, present, and anticipated exposure to violence, trauma, and propaganda) interacts with individuals’ identities, cognition and behaviors in armed conflicts (e.g., fight, stay, leave). Second, the contributions will focus on how this type of data can bring applied value to the effort of liberal democratic actors facing foreign aggression (e.g., counter-disinformation, foster resilience). Finally, speakers will explore how to tackle the methodological and ethical challenges associated with field research in difficult and potentially lethal contexts (e.g., prisons, active war-zones).
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Citations
Fierens, L., Bouchat, P., Jaïs-Trojan, A., Bilewicz, M., & Gomèz, A. (2026, July 2). Applying social psychology to contemporary armed conflict: towards better understanding, preparation and action [symposium]. EASP 2026 General Meeting, Strasbourg. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/280084