Interpellation and group polarization: Aspects of group hatred

• Published in: International journal of applied psychoanalytic studies Vol. 21; no. 3
• Main Author: White, Robert S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2024
• Subjects: entitlement ideologies; excessive projective identification; group polarization; internal racism; interpellation; large‐group processes; Massacres; Psychoanalysis
• ISSN: 1742-3341; 1556-9187
• DOI: 10.1002/aps.1873

Group hate, a phenomenon increasingly prevalent in recent world history, manifests in ethnic hatred, mass killings, terrorism, and war. In this context, psychoanalysis offers a unique perspective, modestly contributing to the understanding of group hate through the analysis of human aggression and defenses against such aggression. Human beings, while requiring a group life to maintain basic security, often fear being immersed and judged by other individuals in the group. This paper delves into three mechanisms, interpellation, group polarization, and projective identification, that individuals employ to defend against such fears. Interpellation, for instance, sheds light on how cultural forces, referred to as ideology, influence personal identity. The latter two mechanisms, group polarization, and projective identification, foster in‐group solidarity and hatred of the out‐group, thereby perpetuating widening splits and cycles of hatred and vengeance between groups. The paper concludes by advocating for the humanization of the hated others, setting aside fantasies of vengeance, and finding areas of compromise as the way forward. A secondary goal of the paper is to address the split within psychoanalysis between intrapsychic and interpersonal concepts.