The Ethnic Unconscious and Its Role in Transference, Resistance, and Countertransference: An Introduction

A theory of human condition that does not provide an adequate explanatory paradigm to understand the basic human dilemma and the motivational factors affecting our position in the world vis-à-vis ourselves and others is soon rendered ineffective and obsolete. Although a number of psychoanalytic thinkers have already provided a rich foundation in this regard (Erickson, 1963; Freud, 1894; Kohut, 1971; Sullivan, 1953; Winnicott, 1965), the proliferation of violence in our society; international conflicts giving rise to wars within and among nations; the socioeconomic and sociopolitical realities that perpetuate poverty in their citizens; rape, child abuse, family violence and the like; are all in dire need of psychoanalytic attention. This is particularly the case with regard to the complex issues surrounding ethnic tension, a phenomenon that has become more and more prominent at the international and national level. Psychoanalysis is, indeed, in the best position