Authoritarianism in All Its Guises: Perspectives on Right, Left and Center

Authoritarianism in All its Guises provides an interdisciplinary assessment of contemporary experiences of authoritarianism.

Drawing on psychoanalysis and critical theory, contributors from a range of academic backgrounds consider authoritarianism as it manifests in a range of movements and contexts. The chapters investigate, interrogate, and, in some cases, clash creatively and revealingly over the meanings of contemporary experiences of authoritarianism across the political spectrum. The issues raised here not only compel us to come to grips with and clarify what constitutes modern authoritarianism but also what defines the ＂Left＂ in this stubbornly neoliberal age.

Authoritarianism in All its Guises will be essential reading for academics and students of psychoanalysis, political and social psychology, sociology, history, and media and cultural studies.

Daniel Burston is Associate Professor and former chair (retired) of Duquesne University’s psychology department. A historian of the mental health disciplines, he has authored several books and numerous journal articles on the history and politics of psychology, psychiatry, and psychoanalysis.

Kurt Jacobsen is a Lecturer in Social Sciences and Faculty Associate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. He is author and editor of a dozen books and is co-editor of the UK journal Free Associations.