‘A leader or a father?’

Exploring transference in large groups as an explanation of populism

Abstract

The main aim of this article is to provide an alternative explanation about the occurrence of populism through the lens of psychoanalysis. Using the concept of transference, the article explains why populism occurs in politics and what the unseen unconscious psychological processes are that form political choices in some societies. It also aims to open a discussion about what type of culture, society, or large group may experience transference when populism is on the rise, and also what type of populism may be the result of transference.

Using the example of a popular media figure winning an election in Bulgaria in 2021, this work combines political, social, and psychological literature on populism with the psychoanalytic concepts of transference (Freud, 1921) and ‘names-of-the-father’ (Lacan, 2013) to explore some large-group processes (Volkan, 2020). By bringing transference from the field of psychotherapy to the field of politics and large-group studies, the work offers a new explanation of why populism is a phenomenon of psychoanalytic nature.

On the strength of exploring the role of transference in large groups within a specific context of politics, the content makes a contribution to the literature on group transference, extends its application to the social and political sphere, and brings the concept of transference to Vamik Volkan’s large-group psychology field. This addresses a gap in current psychoanalytic literature related to social and political phenomena such as populism. Hence, the work creates a bridge between the fields of politics, psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis.