The psychology of intergroup relations has been a rapidly expanding field in the 21st century, with many more university classes, research journals, and books dedicated to exploring relations between groups. An important aspect of intergroup relations that remains neglected is change, and more broadly the dynamics of how, why, and in what way relations between groups do and do not change (Blackwood et al., Reference Blackwood, Livingstone and Leach2013; Smith et al., Reference Smith, Livingstone and Thomas2019). This book presents a new perspective on intergroup relations, with a focus on systems of people and groups, and how they change and resist change.

The term system defines a set of interconnected elements that together form a complex whole that is more than the sum of its parts (Capra, Reference Capra1997; Capra & Luisi, Reference Capra and Luisi2014; Meadows, Reference Meadows2008; Senge & Sterman, Reference Senge and Sterman1992; Stroh, Reference Stroh2015). For example, a family is more than a collection of individuals, and a body is more than a collection of cells. The dynamics and relationships between people define the family system, which also defines and changes the people within it. In the context of intergroup relations and group processes, societies are more than collections of groups: the relationships between and within groups such as nations, faiths, genders, ages, races, and classes change what it means to be in the society, as well as what it means to be a member of each group. Furthermore, human societies are embedded in time and place: what it means to be an American or a Russian, or a woman or a man, has changed and is changing across the decades, and as our physical environments change. This book offers a critical overview of existing theories and research, and moves beyond the existing knowledge to offer a new perspective on the psychology of intergroup relations in systems.

Part I of this volume summarises and engages existing theories of intergroup relations in five chapters on core theories of intergroup relations (Chapter 1); creating and resisting change as disadvantaged groups (Chapter 2); how advantaged groups create, perpetuate, and grow their advantage (Chapter 3); ideologies of system justification and system change, and how advantaged group members become allies in change (Chapter 4); and group norms (standards or rules for attitudes and behaviour) and how norms change: processes of conformity, dissent, and innovation (Chapter 5). Most of the research and theorising in Part I refers to how individual groups change and create change. Here when we speak of intergroup relations, we are often referring to pairs of groups, such as women and men, or Black and White Americans, that are competing over status and resources in a hierarchy, and the motivations and consequences of their struggle. Yet as we journey through Part I, we also unpack the interconnections and complexity that these binary approaches overlook.

Part II will then summarise, integrate, and innovate a new psychology of system change and resistance to change, that addresses the topics of intergroup relations and group processes in the world ecological and environmental context. In Part II, when we speak of systems, we build an understanding that stretches from beliefs and emotions within people to interpersonal relationships, groups, and societies, to cultural systems in history and ecosystems in natural and human-built physical environments. Chapter 6 starts with an overview of the key themes, and the following chapters explore the topics in greater depth: the mechanisms that create systems’ stability, resilience, and resistance to disturbance (Chapter 7); the psychology of factions and subgroups within social ecosystems (Chapter 8); temporal cycles and how they are shaped by the psychology of time (Chapter 9); the psychology of non-linear changes, from shocks and disruption to tipping points and emergence (Chapter 10); and the impact of individual leaders, artists, and innovators, working with the psychologies of vision and imagination (Chapter 11). The book then closes with Chapter 12, drawing out conclusions, reflections and an agenda for the psychology of transformative system change. The concluding chapter elaborates five lessons for those seeking to change systems, or to cement their resistance and resilience, and applies these to ourselves as people seeking to develop and leverage the new psychology of systems.