Edited Collection "Varieties of Psychologisation in Communist Europe" published

The anthology will be available in print from 16 November 2026. It can already be purchased in digital format. The abstract for the anthology reads:

*Varieties of Psychologisation in Communist Europe* brings together nine in-depth case studies and four commentaries to re-examine the impact of psychology in twentieth-century Europe. Challenging long-held assumptions that psychological knowledge is inherently linked to Western capitalism, liberalism and individualism, this volume demonstrates that psychological concepts, practices and forms of expertise also took root in socialist societies—albeit in historically specific and politically contingent ways. The case studies trace how psychological and psychotherapeutic knowledge circulated and was adapted across diverse national and disciplinary contexts after the Second World War. They show how psychologists navigated ideological constraints and material limitations to assert the social utility of psychological expertise, whether with or without explicit approval from state authorities. Rather than presenting a monolithic socialist psychology or a uniform process of psychologisation, this volume emphasises the plurality of its forms, shaped by local political constellations, professional cultures and transnational exchanges. The concluding commentaries situate these findings within broader debates in the history of psychology and the human sciences. They argue for a decentralised history of psychological knowledge that takes non-Western and non-liberal contexts into account and conceptualises psychologisation as a historically contingent and contested process rather than a unidirectional diffusion from the West. *Varieties of Psychologisation in Communist Europe* invites reflection on how the experiences of Communist Europe complicate and enrich our understanding of psychologisation as a global historical phenomenon.

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