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Barry Richards

Professor of Political Psychology, Bournemouth University
After a first degree in psychology he trained and worked as a clinical psychologist in the NHS before becoming a lecturer and taking a PhD in sociology.

At the University of East London he led the establishment of psychosocial studies as an interdisciplinary teaching programme and research paradigm, while researching and writing in a number of areas including popular culture, therapeutic culture, advertising, consumer behaviour, political leadership, and the rise of 'therapeutic' culture.

In recent years he has been developing a psychosocial approach to the study of violent extremism and fundamentalism, and its complement in the study of the bases of shared identities and social cohesion. He has also been involved in research on emotion in political communication, and on journalism and emotional literacy. From 2007 to 2010 he served as Deputy Dean of the Media School.

Southport attacks: why the UK needs a unified approach to all violent attacks on the public

Jan 29, 2025 12:13 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics Life Law

The conviction of Axel Rudakubana for the murder of three young girls in Southport has prompted many questions about how the UK handles violence without a clear ideological motive. This case has also shown up the confusion...

Why have authoritarianism and libertarianism merged? A political psychologist on 'the vulnerability of the modern self'

Jan 04, 2024 04:36 am UTC| Politics

Logically, authoritarianism and libertarianism are contradictory. Supporters of authoritarian leaders share a state of mind in which they take direction from an idealised figurehead and closely identify with the group...

British people hardly ever thought about the EU before Brexit, now it dominates their lives

Oct 12, 2019 09:09 am UTC| Insights & Views

The polling agency Ipsos MORI has, for many years, asked people in Britain every month what they think are the most important issues facing the country. In December 2015, only six months before the EU referendum and after...

Political psychologist: calling Brexit a national 'humiliation' fuels division

May 02, 2019 17:02 pm UTC| Insights & Views

After the drama of the first months of 2019, its perhaps a good moment to step back a little and consider the division in society that has been exposed and deepened by Brexit. Which aspects of the whole saga have been most...

Economy

UK Stocks Slide as Labour Leadership Tensions and U.S.-China Talks Shape Markets

British stocks closed lower on Friday as political uncertainty surrounding the U.K.s ruling Labour Party pressured investor sentiment and weakened the pound for a fourth straight session. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.61%, while...

Cuba Weighs $100M U.S. Aid Offer Amid Fuel Crisis

Cuba said Thursday it is open to considering a $100 million humanitarian aid proposal from the United States, though officials remain doubtful about President Donald Trumps broader intentions as the island struggles...

Asian Currencies Slide as Strong U.S. Data Boosts Dollar and Fed Rate Hike Expectations

Asian currencies weakened on Friday as stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data pushed the dollar higher and reinforced market expectations that the Federal Reserve could maintain a hawkish monetary policy stance through...

Japan Inflation Outlook: Firms Eye Summer Price Hikes Amid Rising Energy Costs

Japan could experience another wave of widespread price increases this summer as companies respond to surging energy costs linked to tensions in the Middle East, according to a Bank of Japan (BOJ) report released Friday....

US Expects China to Boost Purchases of American Farm Products After Trump-Xi Summit

The United States expects China to commit to purchasing double-digit billions worth of U.S. agricultural products following a high-level summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing,...

Politics

Ukraine Begins Major POW Swap as 205 Soldiers Return from Russian Captivity

Ukraine has successfully brought home 205 service personnel from Russian captivity in the first phase of a large-scale prisoner exchange with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed on Friday. The operation marks a...

Matthew Wale Elected Solomon Islands Prime Minister After No-Confidence Vote

Matthew Wale has been elected as the new Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands after lawmakers voted out former leader Jeremiah Manele in a no-confidence motion last week. The Solomon Islands parliament selected Wale on...

Rubio Urges China to Release Jimmy Lai and Political Prisoners

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States is seeking a positive response from China regarding repeated appeals for the release of jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and other political detainees....

US Hosts Israel-Lebanon Talks as Ceasefire Deadline Nears

The United States described the latest Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington as productive and positive as diplomats pushed to prevent renewed escalation ahead of a fragile ceasefire deadline. U.S. officials confirmed that...

Pentagon Halts Planned U.S. Troop Deployment to Poland Amid Europe Force Review

The Pentagon has reportedly canceled plans to temporarily deploy 4,000 U.S.-based troops to Poland, according to two U.S. officials, raising fresh concerns over the future of American military presence in Europe under...

Science

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

Technology

Applied Materials Forecasts Strong Q3 Revenue as AI Chip Demand Accelerates

Applied Materials posted record fiscal second-quarter revenue on Thursday and issued a stronger-than-expected forecast for the third quarter, fueled by rising global investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure and...

Anthropic Nears $30 Billion Funding Round at $900 Billion Valuation

AI startup Anthropic is reportedly close to securing a massive $30 billion fundraising deal that would value the company at approximately $900 billion, according to a Financial Times report published Friday. The new...

Nvidia’s China AI Chip Sales Remain Frozen Despite U.S. Approval

Nvidias efforts to expand AI chip sales in China remain stalled even after the U.S. approved several Chinese technology giants to purchase the companys H200 processors. Although around 10 Chinese firms, including Alibaba,...

Alibaba Stock Surges After Strong Q4 Earnings Boosted by AI and Cloud Growth

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (HK:9988) saw its Hong Kong-listed shares jump sharply on Thursday after the Chinese e-commerce and technology giant reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings driven by strong momentum in...

SoftBank Shares Slide Despite Record Q4 Profit Fueled by OpenAI Investment

SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) shares dropped sharply on Thursday despite the company reporting blockbuster fourth-quarter earnings, as investors grew increasingly concerned about the Japanese tech giants expanding...