Roundtable on the New Authoritarianism
in-presence and streaming, Barcelona, Spain. May 27, 2026, 1700-1930, Venue TBA
One hundred years after the initiation of full or partial fascism in Italy and Portugal, another wave of authoritarianism is sweeping the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index 2024 reports that 39% of the world’s population lives under authoritarian governance, with an additional 15% residing in “hybrid regimes” that incorporate authoritarianism into the practice of governance. Freedom House, a non-governmental organization, reports that about 80% of the world’s population resides in countries classified as “Not or Partially Not Free,” meaning that civil liberties and political rights are either significantly or severely restricted.
In this session, three of the contributors to the upcoming book series, The Psychology of New Authoritarianism (Dunbar & Bennett, Eds., Springer Press, 2026) will be joined by an Italian sociologist to discuss this phenomenon from several perspectives:
How the 20th century authoritarian motivations of ideological control have morphed into secular hybrids of oligarchy and patrimonialism
How the 20th century epistemology of relativism has enabled both multicultural relations and the backlash of “identity politics.”
How the new intersection of authoritarianism, populism, and national identity is represented in some current case studies (Israel, USA, Italy)
Presenters:
Dr. Edward Dunbar, clinical psychologist with specialization in hate crime, author of “The Psychology of Authoritarian Leaders: Strongmen, Crooks, and Celebrities” (2024) and “Hate Unleashed: America’s Cataclysmic Change” (2018), and editor of “Indoctrination to Hate: Recruitment Techniques of Hate Groups” (2022) and “The Psychology of Hate Crime as Domestic Terrorism” (2016). Co-editor of The New Authoritarianism (2026).
Dr. Milton J. Bennett, researcher in communication theory & sociology with specialization in intercultural relations, author of “Techniques of depersonalization and domination of individual consciousness” in Indoctrination to Hate (2022) and “A constructivist epistemology of hate” in The Psychology of Hate Crime (2016). Co-editor of The New Authoritarianism (2026).
Dr. Shahar Gindi, clinical psychologist and researcher with specialization in multicultural education, author of “I am living proof of co-existence: The experience of Israeli-Arab teachers in Jewish schools“ (2020), “Teachers’ precarious position in facing students’ racist comments in class” (2022) and “Developing intercultural competence in a training program for boundary-crossing Jewish and Palestinian pre-service teachers” (2025).
Dr. Ida Castiglioni, sociologist at the University of Milano Bicocca with specialization in political and cultural processes, author of the durable Italian text, Intercultural Communication: Competence & Practice (2005), Constructing Intercultural Competence in Italian Social Service and Healthcare Organizations (2013), and co-author of “Building Capacity for Intercultural Citizenship” in Open Journal of Social Sciences (2018).
Venue:
The seminar will be held in presence with streaming at a site TBD in Barcelona, Spain, May 27 2026 from 1700 to 1930 hours. With the local support of Kat O’Brian, it is sponsored by the Intercultural Development Research Institute, co-located in Milan, Italy and Oregon State, USA.