Political Psychology in Russia: Current Issues in International Studies (Interview with Nikolay Kosolapov, Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Science)

Interview with Professor N. Kosolapov is devoted to the most urgent and complex problems of modern international relations and world politics, reveals the current state of political psychology in Russia and abroad, as well as the evolution of the science. As estimated by N. Kosolapov, the viability of political-psychological projects in Russia has fallen sharply compared to 1990's. They are not fully used in the development of political strategies, as well as in the process of operational decision making and its realization. In the interview are marked the obstacles to the emergence of theoretical and applied research in Russia, as well as key milestones for future development of political psychology. It also touches upon the most important questions of psychology of leadership within the framework of modern Russian and international practice, the political process as a whole, shows the differences in the approaches of European and Russian scientific schools in the analysis of political leadership. The author’s vision of key issues of contemporary international relations is of particular interest: we are witnessing the fact that American global leadership is experiencing an acute crisis, which contributes to the escalation of inter-state conflicts. However, the positive effect of the international crisis for our country is that it led the elites to reconsider their own ideological guidance with respect to Russia's role in world politics and forced to fight for the «new position».

foreign policy, international relations, political psychology, psychology of leadership, foreign consciousness