Janusz Reykowski, founder and former Chair of the Institute of Psychology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and, among many other roles, co-founder of the Warsaw School of Social Psychology, visited UCI’s School of Social Sciences as the Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellow in February of last year to deliver several talks and further joint research projects with colleagues at the School. During his visit, we inquired about his unique experience and expertise in political psychology.

Reykowski’s initial interest in the field of psychology of personality, theory of psychological stress and emotion, evolved into his study of altruistic behavior, a field of interest he shares with Kristen R. Monroe, Professor of Political Science at the School of Social Sciences and Director of the UCI Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality. Both have researched those who attempted to save Jews during World War II. But more recent historical events also influenced Dr. Reykowski’s research.

A Critical Role in Modern History

After professorial stints in the United States, Reykowski returned in 1981 to a Poland in the grip of growing political conflict and the rise of something unthinkable in its monocentric system of government—an organized opposition, known to the world as the Solidarity Movement. As the situation in Poland worsened, culminating in the imposition of martial law in December 1981, Reykowkski’s focus turned to the psychological aspects of what was happening around him, to the interface between politics and psychology.

Despite the police-state mentality he lived in, he pursued the psychological approach, publishing articles in popular magazines positing that no possibility for progress existed in Poland without recognition of the democratic aspirations of the Polish society. Building off the work of American psychologist Martin Deutsch, Reykowski applied conflict theory to Poland’s political crisis. Using cautious language and avoiding overt criticism of Poland’s communist regime, Reykowski found he could criticize the situation and its implications while arguing for the necessity of change.

Changes that took place in Poland and beyond would astound the world. However, Professor Reykowski pointed out the important pre-conditions at work which made the surprising outcome possible—beyond the fact that Poland was the most liberal of the Eastern Bloc Countries. First, the Solidarity Movement, intent on nonviolent demands for democratization, grew out of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Poland in 1979. Not since the end of World War II, had Poles spontaneously, without government approval or organization, come together in the millions as they did for the homecoming of the Pope. The massive turnout sparked the realization of their collective power.

Secondly, within the ruling party were leaders who recognized the necessity for radical change. The old ways of running the country had wrought economic mayhem. Thirdly, beyond its catalyst role, the Catholic Church played an important mediating role between the two parties. And fourth, the liberalization under Pieretstroika introduced by the Soviet Union’s leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, lessened the threat of external intervention as had occurred in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Most importantly for the cooperative approach, neither side held the clear upper hand in the dispute.

Appointment to the Politburo

By 1988, four years after the lifting of Martial Law, the still-mounting crisis in Poland between the government and striking Solidarity workers forced the communist regime to create the Round Table Talks to seek innovative solutions to the country’s problems. In conjunction with the Talks, Reykowski was appointed to the Politburo, the most powerful governmental body in Poland, equivalent to the US President’s Cabinet. He became a co-chair of the political-reform table. Professor Reykowski says he was given “the opportunity to have my finger in the major change occurring in Poland.”

Poland’s Round Table discussions of political, economic, and trade-union reform instigated the country’s transition to democratization. In April of 1989, partly free elections and other changes were agreed upon, including a revision of the legal system. By September, marking the end of one-party rule, one of the Solidarity leaders was elected Prime Minister. Perhaps most importantly, the effects of the historic Talks spread quickly beyond Poland’s borders.

A Prototype for a Democratic Approach to Societal Conflicts

Poland’s democratization incited a chain reaction of events felt around the world. In June 1989, Hungary began its own Round Table negotiations, followed in November by the so-called Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia. Also in November 1989 and most symbolic of all—the Berlin Wall fell. In December of that year, both Bulgaria and Romania continued the peaceful movement away from single-party rule.

The Communist Bloc disintegrated. The Cold War had ended, abruptly.

Peaceful Change Proven Possible

According to Dr. Reykowski, the peaceful aspect of this tremendous change is the most significant lesson. He believes that this change demonstrates that even long-standing, deep political and ideological antagonisms among large populations do not necessitate violence. According to Reykowski, dramatic change was realized, without external intervention or internal confrontation, but through negotiation.

When asked if this lesson was applicable, for example, to the Middle East, Reykowski points out that just as unique conditions conspired to make psychological approaches effective in Poland, facilitating pre-conditions must exist for constructive problem solving—the most obvious being basic respect for your adversary and the ability to listen to each other’s concerns. The limits to this approach bear further research, he comments, but especially in this post-9/11 world, the lesson of negotiated change must not be forgotten.

The UCI Connection

Reykowski’s research into altruism overlapped that of Professor Kristen Monroe’s as previously mentioned. Professor Shawn W. Rosenberg arranged his first visit to UCI in the early nineties after having met at a conference of the International Society of Political Psychology. Monroe facilitated his recent return. Currently, in conjunction with Professor Shawn W. Rosenberg, Professor of Political Science at the School of Social Sciences, Reykowski is co-developing a research project to be conducted in both Poland and the United States on adversarial and deliberative approaches in democracy.

Reykowski is interested in group processes and under what conditions groups can maximize the constructive debate and solve political problems. He believes that comparing results in the US with those in Poland, a democratic newcomer, should provide significant insights.

Reykowski shares an interest in much of the research being conducted at the School of Social Sciences today and values the interchange with his UCI colleagues. The way he sees it, his visits deepen the connections which may lead to future avenues of study.

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