Robert Waelder

Robert Waelder (1900–1967) was a noted Austrian psychoanalyst and member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. Waelder studied under Anna Freud and Hermann Nunberg. He was known for his work bringing together psychoanalysis and politics and wrote extensively on the subject.

Waelder was the son of Jewish merchant Joseph Waelder. Waelder graduated from Maximilian Gymnasium with honors in 1918; he received a doctorate in physics in 1921.

Waelder contacted Sigmund Freud in 1922 to inquire about treatment, and was referred to Hans Jokl. He later trained under Anna Freud and Hermann Nunberg and in 1924 became a member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society.

In 1936 Waelder presented his critique of the teachings of Melanie Klein at a conference held by the Viennese school and in 1936 published "The Problem of the Genesis of Psychical Conflict".

Waelder later presented "The Psychological Aspects of International Affairs" to the Royal Institute of International Affairs, a work on psychology and politics and suggested how psychoanalytic techniques might be applied to the study of war or conflict.

As a representative of the Viennese analysts, and within the context of an exchange of views, in 1936 Waelder presented in London his critique of the teachings of Melanie Klein; "The Problem of the Genesis of Psychical Conflict" was published in 1936. Waelder also presented to the Royal Institute of International Affairs his work on psychology and politics, which was published as "The Psychological Aspects of International Affairs" and suggested how psychoanalytic notions might be applied to the study of war; in a similar vein, he had written a short study on collective psychoses

In 1930 Waelder published in German Principle of Multiple Function (Internationale Zeitschift fur Psychoanalyse, 1930, 16: 286-300; it was translated in English in 1936: The principle of multiple function: observations on over-determination. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 1936, 5: 45-62; reprint: 2007, 76: 75-92). In it Waelder widened Freud's formulation of psychological symptoms, hypothesising they were caused by and relieved conflict simultaneously. Symptoms, such as phobias and compulsions, each represent elements of some internal drive like superego, anxiety, reality, and defenses.

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