Coming from the social-psychological school of conflict analysis, Ralph White is recognized as a 'parent of the peace and conflict studies field' and a major influence of 'war psychology' with his early studies; how wars start, misperceptions, mutual fears, and empathizing with 'the Other.'
It was entirely appropriate that one of the first 'parents of the peace and conflict field' that we interviewed was Ralph White, then in retirement in Maryland. Dr. White’s long career both in and out of government started before the Second World War when he worked with Kurt Lewin and later with Seymour Martin Lipset on the whole issue of the linkage between public opinion and democracy. He also pioneered the study of public opinion in the Soviet Union in the aftermath of what the Soviets always referred to as “The Great Patriotic War.” Working for the then United States Information Agency (USIA) and the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA) – what Dr. White describes as the “innocent” side of that latter organization – he made the politically unacceptable discovery that - in general - people in the Soviet Union were fully in support of their government’s foreign policy but were as scared of another war as were people in the West.
All this time, and for the rest of his long career, Ralph White was interested in combining the insights of psychology with the record of history and particularly the history of the five major wars in which the United States had involved itself in during the 20th Century – the two World Wars, the Cold War, Korea, and Vietnam. Like anyone who went through the trauma of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, White became interested in how national leaders blunder into wars that nobody really wants and what – if any – were the common psychological processes that underlay decisions that produced exactly the wrong outcome.
Among his most influential works was a study of the psychology of both mass and elites from the adversaries involved in the Vietnam war – Nobody Wanted War, still an essential read for students of 'war psychology' – although the book starts with an interesting analysis of the start of the First and Second World Wars. He went on to produce Fearful Warriors an examination of US-Soviet relations during the Cold War and then a series of insightful articles including some on the struggle with Iraq and the role of Serbia in the break-up of Yugoslavia.
With some justification, Ralph White can be seen as a major influence – together with others such as Morton Deutsch, Dean Pruitt and Herb Kelman – on the social psychological school of conflict analysis. His work alone on misperception – seeing things wrong – and empathizing – understanding the thoughts and feelings of “the Other” – would ensure him a prominent place among “Parents of the Field,” but there is much more in his writing that repays serious study and much respect.
CRM/JB
