War: A Transactional Group Analysis

AbstractThis article offers a brief review of Berne’s application of group theory to the topic of war. Stimulated by the responses of governments and the governed to the coronavirus pandemic (from 2020) and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia (in 2022), the author considers how this specific aspect of Bernean group theory may be used to understand these and other examples of violations of group structure. The article and its analysis are first positioned as a transactional analysis contribution to social psychology. Following this, the article provides a review of the TA literature on war and a brief discussion of group structure and leadership; highlights the six ways Berne identified by which a group’s existence can be terminated; and finally, suggests a certain sequence to these processes.Keywords: Wartransactional analysisgroup structuregroup processesdecaydisruptiondestructioninfiltrationerosionattrition AcknowledgmentsThe author acknowledges and thanks Karen Minikin for reminding him about Berne’s three “Ds” of group process and encouraging him to write this article as well as both Karen and Giles Barrow for encouraging him to expand the scope of the original draft. He also thanks Terry Berne, Matt Bird, and Snizhana Nikolaieva (Сніжана Ніколаєва) for their comments on the subsequent draft of the article as well as the anonymous peer reviewers for their positive reviews of the submission.Disclosure statementThe author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.Additional informationFundingThe author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.Notes on contributorsKeith TudorKeith Tudor, PhD, CQSW, Dip. Psychotherapy, Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy), is professor of psychotherapy at Auckland University of Technology, Aotearoa New Zealand. He has a small private practice in West Auckland as a health care provider and transactional analyst. Keith can be reached at Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1142, New Zealand; email: keith.tudor@aut.ac.nz.