We look forward to welcoming you to Regensburg for the Interdisciplinary Meeting

“Obedience to Authority – Interdisciplinary Perspectives”

(11.-12. September 2026) 

“[…] one who knows that he may dissent knows also that he somehow consents when he does not dissent.”

— Hannah Arendt, Crises of the Republic (1972)

How should we understand obedience across disciplines?

Eighty years after the Nuremberg Trials, where perpetrators justified their actions by claiming that they had merely followed orders, obedience to authority remains a central concern across history, psychology, and related fields. Research has shown that mass violence is not only the product of ideological conviction, but also of ordinary individuals acting within specific institutional, social, and organizational contexts.

Across disciplines, different lenses have been developed to understand these dynamics. Historical analyses emphasize structures of perpetration, bureaucratic organization, and situational pressures. Psychological approaches focus on mechanisms of agency, conflict, and social influence. Yet these perspectives often remain disconnected.

This interdisciplinary conference brings together historians and scholars from related fields with psychologists and neuroscientists to create a space for structured dialogue. The aim is to compare conceptual frameworks, clarify points of convergence and divergence, and explore how different levels of analysis—historical, social, and psychological—can inform one another without collapsing their differences.

In cooperation with the Center for Commemorative Culture at the University of Regensburg and the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp Memorial Site, the conference explicitly situates scholarly debate within broader societal and commemorative contexts. A joint field visit and in situ discussions will provide space to reflect on how research on obedience and disobedience relates to historical responsibility, public memory, and contemporary societal challenges.

By fostering sustained interdisciplinary exchange, the conference aims not only to connect perspectives, but to sharpen them: to better understand where integration is possible, where disciplinary boundaries are necessary, and how both can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of obedience, responsibility, and dissent.

Together with the preceding EASP Small Group Meeting (9–11 September 2026), this conference forms the second part of a two-stage event designed to bridge psychological and historical approaches. The bridge motif in our conference logo— inspired by Regensburg’s historic Stone Bridge (Steinerne Brücke)—symbolizes this ambition: to connect disciplines, contexts, and levels of explanation.