Public Lecture “The Politics of Fear and the Making of Foreign Policy: Case Studies from Europe”

Lecture of Professor of Political Science, Tulane University, Raymond Taras 
February, 10, 2014 at 13.00
The lecture will become a part of International Week of HSE – St.Petersburg and Winter School for Prospective Students. 

Public lecture of Professor of Tulane University, Raymond Taras

 Today’s politics of fear is not only about top-down elite manipulation of citizens but especially in Europe, bottom-up mobilization of swathes of society against a political establishment viewed as championing hyper-diversity. A key issue in the study of xenophobia is how citizens’ fears of foreigners living within a state can be converted into antipathy towards foreign nations and, in turn, hostile foreign policy towards perceived adversaries. This lecture looks critically at the role of fear in contemporary politics applying theories from social psychology and psychoanalysis.  Case studies include France's alleged Islamophobia in domestic and international contexts, Poland's Russophobia at home and abroad, and Sweden's phobia of phobias - its efforts at political correctness at home and internationally. If paranoia partly shapes foreign policies, what can be done to eliminate it?

The lecture will become a part of International Week of HSE – St.Petersburg and Winter School for Prospective Students.

All interested in the topic are highly appreciated to participate! The lecture will take place at HSE – St.Petersburg, Souza Pechatnikov, 16, room 410