Reddit mentions of Perception and Misperception in International Politics (Center for International Affairs, Harvard University)

Or, going more academic, somewhere in this book, Robert Jarvis said (paraphrasing here) that studies show that the lower cognitive ability a person has, the more complex they regard systems to be. Complexity is scary, better to just say there's evil people making things the way they are and go about your way. At least that way you're holding out hope that someone overthrows them and makes things nice.

I'm going to make a plug for the wiki page on r/geopolitics. It includes books, news sources, podcasts, and other resources on international relations. Here is the link to the section on books that focus on general concepts of international relations, foreign policy, and geopolitics.

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If you are completely new to the field of IR, begin by reading Jack Snyder's article "One World, Rival Theories". It is a little dated, but it provides a sound overview of the field of international relations, the three primary paradigms of IR, and some examples of practitioners of those paradigms. Alternatively, if you wish to spend a little money, read Dan Drezner's Theories of International Politics and Zombies. It's a more relaxed and humorous introduction into IR and the predominant elements of the field through the lens of a global zombie threat.

You can also watch the London School of Economics and Political Science's video International Relations: An Introduction. It's about 10 minutes long and partially an advertisement for the university, but it provides a very simple overview of IR. If you wish to watch something longer and more in-depth, William Spaniel created a International Relations 101 playlist with videos that deal with individual aspects of IR. If you decide to watch it, do it in order so that you do not get overwhelmed by the more interesting-sounding (but much more complex) videos.

Since you are interested in the political psychology of IR, I would recommend starting with Graham Allison's Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis. The book examines the three levels of decision-making within a country in regards to international affairs: the government level, the organizational level (e.g. different government agencies), and the individual level (e.g. the President, the Secretary of State, Congressmen). It then provides this analysis within the context of the Cuban Missile Crisis and how analysis of the decisions of the United States and Soviet Union can be viewed very differently by examining each of the three levels. The book is basically required reading for all students of IR, or at least it should be.

Additionally, read Thomas C. Schelling's Arms and Influence. The book examines the various ways in which military capabilities (real or imagined) are used as bargaining power in international relations. It deals with a lot of the psychological elements at play in IR.

Finally, I also recommend Robert Jervis's Perception and Misperception in International Politics. This book examines how a decision-maker's perception of the world and their perception of other international actors can diverge from reality in noticeable patterns that can be detected and for reasons that can be comprehended. Essentially, it examines why political leaders make the decisions that they make.