Why (This) War? Psychoanalysis of War – Psychoanalysis in War

Every war is a huge challenge to psychoanalytic theory and therapeutic practice. War—as an inextricable human phenomenon, its causes and constant recurrence, the probability of its elimination, avoidance, or at least prediction—is a constant subject of psychoanalytic inquiry. And the processing of premonitions and experiences of war is a constant field of psychoanalytic practice. Each war puts psychoanalysis on the brink of crisis, again and again, raising urgent questions about its limits, possibilities, capabilities and appropriateness, questions about the suitability of psychoanalytic therapeutic techniques and their theoretical foundations, questions about practical utility and worldview conformity. Will the psychoanalytic technique withstand the test of the merciless reality of war? Is psychoanalysis suitable for dealing with acute war trauma, or “only” for dealing with anxieties and losses among civilians? To what extent can the theory be useful in forecasting and modeling the course of wars—as a means of protection and struggle, or “only” as a means of reflection and interpretation? In various ways, psychoanalytic practice in war offers fundamental insights: war affects everyone (in different ways) and penetrates into the tiniest, remotest capillaries of mental life; war as a human phenomenon may have some common origin, but it is nonetheless important to understand the specific causes and courses of specific wars; the course taken by each war varies strongly, unfolding differently and gradually in experience; war is a mentally complex, fragile, and changing phenomenon; the suffering caused by war is incredibly diverse; war creates an urgent demand for unity and poses a major threat of social disorder, disintegration, and decline. In order to maintain solidarity, it is vital to understand the sufferings, similar in depth but sometimes very different in composition, of all members of the community. In English