Authoritarian power is not sustained by weapons alone but by psychology.
In this Kyiv Post interview, Jason Jay Smart speaks with Dr. Eric Shiraev of George Mason University, a leading scholar of political psychology and co-author of textbooks on Russian politics and on theories of political psychology.
Shiraev explains how modern authoritarian systems weaponize fear, myth, and identity to manipulate belief and sustain control. Together, they expose how Vladimir Putin’s regime uses selective truth, repetition, and emotional conditioning to build obedience that feels voluntary.
This conversation dissects the machinery of modern propaganda: media saturation, narrative engineering, and the psychological framing that turns lies into loyalty. It connects these tactics directly to the ongoing war in Ukraine, where stories are deployed as weapons and perception itself is a battlefield.
Dr. Shiraev also outlines how free societies can fight back – through inoculation against manipulation, transparent communication, and restoring trust in credible messengers.
For viewers who seek more than headlines, this briefing reveals how power captures minds and how truth dismantles it. It is an essential guide to the psychology behind modern authoritarianism and how democratic resilience begins with understanding.