Psychic capital and the survival of the nation: The role of the British Monarchy 1939 to 1945

The nation is defined as a collective psychological entity as a distinct from the state, a politico-legal entity. In order to survive, nations must maintain a certain level of psychological health, which is a product of strong sense of identity, a sense of coherence, and a reserve of psychic capital, a concept introduced by Boulding. As a case study, one can observe the response to the situation of grave threat confronting Great Britain in 1939, and note the role of the monarch King George VI, who was able by leadership to mobilize resources of psychic capital and this significantly help his nation survive.