The concept of political plasticity leads us to identify areas of human behavior that are highly resistant to change and need special planning in order to bring about reforms, and also areas that have more potential for change and, through their change, will bring about larger transformations in societies. In domains such as ethnicity, leadership, rich–poor divide, and religion, planning for change must be undertaken taking into account, first, the great obstacles to change and, second, the possibility of backward movement away from democracy. But there are other domains where political plasticity is much higher and which can bring about more widespread transformations. The illustrative example of women in education is discussed in this chapter. The rapid progress of women in education throughout much of the world since World War II has been truly astonishing. If managed well, the progress of women in education can lead to progress in other areas, including population control and global warming.

A distinction is made between surface-level change and deep-level change. A great deal of surface-level change is taking place, as reflected in the continually transforming rhetoric being used, particularly in the political domain. However, rhetoric on democratic changes often hides deep continuities. Three examples of such continuities are: the persistence of leadership, with most leaders being male (the United States has yet to have a female president); the continuity of ethnic inequalities and discrimination against minorities; and the failure of revolutions to being about a change of systems as well as a change of leadership—most modern revolutions have replaced one dictator for another. Organized in three main parts, the chapters in this book illuminate continuities and point to areas that are more promising for instigating change, such as women in education. Psychological science has so far used methodology and theories appropriate for studying short-term processes; the concept of political plasticity opens the path to the psychology of continuity and long-term change.