Moderator:
- Martina Klicperova-Baker, Institute of Psychology, Academy of Sciences CZ, Czech Republic
Participants:
- Bob Cialdini, Arizona State University, U.S.A.
- Martina Klicperová, Czech Academy of Sciences, the Czech Republic
- Fathali Moghaddam, originally Iran, now Georgetown University, U.S.A.
Abstract:
Over 200 years ago, Immanuel Kant stated that republics = democracies lead not just to a good life but to eternal peace. Democratic peace really seems to work, the most democratic countries do not attack each other; this pax democratica also seems to work internally: Data show that democracies kill fewer of their own citizens than autocracies. Still, the world in general seems to turn away from this desirable path.
1. What psychological factors can help explain the increasing tendency to turn away from democracy as a political system and toward autocracy?
2. Knowing what we know about these factors, how can we counter them?
3. What can Psychology of Democracy offer and to whom?