Games in the Relationship Between the Individual and the State as a Manifestation of a Deformation of Civic Identity

Goal: The article aims to present the concept of capturing civic identity, and in particular, its relationship with the state, in the subject-object paradigm as a game. Methods: Eric Berne's transactional analysis and the self-agency approach were used as the methodological basis for the author's concept of civic games. We present theoretical models of civic games and an analysis of each game according to Berne's scheme, with a detailed discussion of the players, psychological benefits, main transactions, and exit patterns. The results of the analysis were used to propose a concept of games that deform civic identity and to characterize the games according to Berne's scheme of transactional analysis: “Persecution,’ ‘Patriot,’ ‘Offended,’ ‘Parasite,’ and ‘Heroic worker.’ Conclusion: Games replace a healthy relationship between the individual and the state, which should consist of mutually beneficial and necessary transactions. A game provides each player with psychological profit if a healthy exchange is impossible. The analysis of the game can broaden the individual's awareness of civic self-realization and provides an opportunity to “get out of the game’ and optimize the relationship with the state.