FOUNDATION FOR THE STUDY OF POLITICAL PATHOLOGY

Hitler, Nationalism, and Sacrifice

This newsletter reviews Richard A. Koenigsberg's book analyzing how Hitler's WWI trench experience shaped his ideology of national sacrifice, which ultimately led to genocide. The review examines Koenigsberg's argument that nationalism and sacrificial ideology—common to all WWI protagonists—created a "psychological dynamic" where human bodies were sacrificed for the state, with parallels drawn between military mobilization practices and later atrocities.

The Psychology of Sacrificial Death

(Michael Roberts)

Scholar Richard Koenigsberg argues that war is fundamentally a psychological pathology driven by society's need to sacrifice its own young men to affirm the nation's existence and meaning, rather than by traditional explanations of honor or defense. Drawing on theories from Durkheim, Girard, and others, he posits that nations function as modern religious entities requiring ritual human sacrifice, and that this deep psychological need explains why rational arguments against war are ineffective and why peace advocates become targets for vilification. The article suggests this hypothesis accounts for otherwise inexplicable behaviors like soldiers willingly walking into machine-gun fire and societies' deliberate suppression of images showing war's true human costs.

Hitler, nationalism, sacrifice--Koenigsberg in the SriLanka Guardian (Michael Roberts)

This newsletter argues that human understanding of the world originates from bodily experience rather than abstract theory, citing psychologist Richard Koenigsberg's concept that individuals psychologically identify their bodies with national bodies. The piece critiques post-structuralist theorists like Foucault and Lacan for obscuring this fundamental truth, and explains how people project their own physical vulnerabilities onto nations, leading states to seek secure borders and closed boundaries as psychological protection mechanisms. The framework suggests nationalism and territorial anxiety stem from deep-seated bodily insecurity that individuals externalize onto the nation-state.

Trump & Hitler in the same bed?

(Michael Roberts)

This newsletter features Michael Roberts, an anthropologist and blogger, discussing an article titled "Trump and Hitler in the Same Bed?" that compares the two political figures. The piece is presented as part of a circular letter from Richard Koenigsberg of the Library of Social Science in New York, highlighting Roberts' scholarly work on comparative political analysis.

Omaha Beach: "the horror, the horror"

(Michael Roberts)

This newsletter announces the formation of a consortium/think-tank led by Professor Roger Griffin to study violent political extremism, including war, genocide, and terrorism. It features commentary by Michael Roberts on the film "Saving Private Ryan," particularly its realistic depiction of the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach, which veterans confirm accurately portrays the horror and brutality of amphibious assault. The newsletter emphasizes that graphic war depictions serve an important educational purpose for those advocating for military action or war.

Immunology & the Final Solution

(Michael Roberts)

This newsletter explores how bacteriological discoveries in late 19th-century Germany, particularly Robert Koch's identification of the tuberculosis bacillus, influenced Nazi ideology. The article argues that Hitler adopted a medical/immunological framework, positioning himself as a "political physician" who identified Jews as a "bacillus" causing Germany's social diseases, justifying the Holocaust as a "cure" through elimination. The piece demonstrates how scientific concepts, when militarized and politicized, can be weaponized to rationalize genocide.

Collective Will of the People (Michael Roberts/THUPPAHI'S BLOG)

This newsletter republishes Dr. Koenigsberg's essay on how political leaders articulate the "collective will of the people," using Trump and Hitler as examples. Rather than focusing on a leader's personal pathology, the essay argues that successful leaders fulfill latent desires and fantasies of their constituents by crystallizing and articulating shared political ideas into compelling discourse. Michael Roberts contextualizes this framework alongside authoritarian and populist leadership in different contexts, including Sri Lanka, while cautioning against circular explanations that ignore the specific political and social circumstances enabling such leaders' emergence.

War as Blood and Gore: Omaha Beach

(Michael Roberts)

Professor Michael Roberts presents an essay examining the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, emphasizing the brutal realities of combat through graphic depictions from the film *Saving Private Ryan*. The essay details how the operation, despite careful planning, encountered unexpected resistance from the German 352nd Infantry Division, resulting in heavy casualties and initial confusion as landing craft missed targets and engineers struggled to clear beach obstacles under intense fire. Roberts uses the Omaha Beach assault as a case study to illustrate the horrors of war and challenge those who advocate for military action to confront the true human cost of combat. The piece is part of the Library of Social Science's Reflections and Commentaries Program, which explores the causes and meanings of collective violence through scholarly analysis.

Reaching a world-wide audience: LSS in South Asia & Australia

The Library of Social Science has expanded its global reach through a collaboration with Michael Roberts, a prominent historian and anthropologist at the University of Adelaide, who republishes LSS articles on his popular blog and through the Sri Lanka Guardian newspaper. This partnership enables LSS publications to reach audiences across South Asia and Australia, extending the visibility of scholarly work on topics including nationalism, sacrifice, totalitarianism, and political history.

Australian Nationalism & sacrificial death (Michael Roberts)

This essay by Michael Roberts examines how Australian nationalism was constructed around the ideology of sacrificial death, particularly following the 1915 Gallipoli campaign in World War One. Roberts argues that Australian commemorative practices drew heavily on Classical Greek imagery and "muscular Christianity" ideals that were prevalent throughout Europe, while simultaneously promoting the exclusionary "White Australia" immigration policy. He demonstrates how war correspondents and historians like C.E.W. Bean shaped the "Anzac Legend" using Greek architectural and philosophical motifs, positioning young male sacrifice as the foundation of Australian nationhood. Roberts situates Australian nationalism within the broader European context of masculine valor and militarism that characterized both Allied and Axis powers during the world wars.

Michael Roberts on the ideology of sacrificial death

Michael Roberts examines how Australian nationalism became intertwined with an ideology of sacrificial death, using the Gallipoli campaign of World War One as a foundational myth. He traces how British cultural influences—including classical Greek imagery, Christian symbolism, and "muscular Christianity"—shaped Australian commemoration of war dead, while noting the irony that the idealized young masculine imagery resembled Nazi Aryan archetypes despite Australia's concurrent "White Australia" racist policies. Roberts argues that this ideology of sacrifice was not unique to Australia but reflected broader European trends that ultimately justified massive wartime casualties on both Allied and Axis sides.

The Will to War (Michael Roberts)

Michael Roberts's essay "The Will to War" compares the motivations behind different groups who volunteer for warfare, drawing parallels between Australian soldiers who enlisted in World War I (motivated by adventure, patriotism, and proving their nation's worth) and young Muslim men enlisting with ISIS (driven by commitment to the Islamic Ummah and Salafi ideology). Roberts argues that while the causes differ dramatically, both groups share similar psychological motivations rooted in patriotism, duty, and desire for sacrifice toward what they perceive as just causes. The essay challenges readers to understand these motivations beyond simplistic moral judgments while acknowledging cultural and ideological differences.

Nationalism & the Ideology of Sacrificial Death (Michael Roberts)

This essay by Michael Roberts examines how Australian nationalism became intertwined with an ideology of sacrificial death, particularly through the commemoration of the 1915 Gallipoli campaign in World War One. Roberts traces how Australian national identity was constructed using classical Greek imagery and "muscular Christianity" ideals of masculine valor, while these same aesthetics paralleled Nazi Aryan symbolism and reflected Australia's racist "White Australia" immigration policies. He argues that Australia, like other European nations, embraced a nationalist narrative that glorified young men's deaths in war as a supreme sacrifice for the nation-state, embedding this culture of sacrifice into national memory and identity.

Introducing Guest Newsletter Essayist,

Michael Roberts

The Library of Social Science Newsletter introduces Michael Roberts, a historian and anthropologist from the University of Adelaide who specializes in nationalism, terrorism, and war. Roberts, a Rhodes Scholar and Oxford PhD recipient, contributes essays and book reviews to the newsletter and maintains a popular website featuring articles on world politics. Through this collaboration, LSS Publications expands its reach to South Asia and Australia, with Roberts' work also appearing in the Sri Lanka Guardian.

Sacrificial Devotion

Michael Roberts examines the sacrificial ideology of the LTTE (Tamil Tigers), a separatist organization in Sri Lanka that was defeated in 2009, comparing it to nationalist sacrifice in World War I and Nazi Germany. The LTTE institutionalized self-sacrifice through practices like carrying cyanide capsules and created elaborate commemorative rituals (Māvīrar Nāl) and sacred cemeteries to honor fallen fighters, thereby strengthening group cohesion and commitment to their leader Prabhakaran and the cause of Tamil independence. Roberts argues this sacrificial devotion served both practical and ideological purposes—maintaining morale while reinforcing the fusion of national goals with leadership, similar to patterns seen in other nationalist and military movements throughout history.

Sacrifice, Martyrdom—and Truth

This newsletter explores the relationship between nationalism, sacrifice, and martyrdom across different historical and cultural contexts. Drawing on anthropologist Michael Roberts' analysis, the piece compares the sacrificial ideologies of Nazi Germany, World War I nationalism, and the Tamil Tigers (LTTE), arguing that each valorized individual death for the greater community. The central thesis proposes that sacrificial death serves as a "demonstrative process" to validate societal beliefs and ideals—whether for a nation, religion, or political cause—suggesting that political violence is fundamentally rooted in the need to prove the truth of one's belief system through martyrdom.