In Memoriam - Prof. Emeritus Doris A. Graber

On February 17th 2018, our international academic community lost a great mind, an inspirational role model, a pioneer colleague, that shaped our field in unique ways. Professor Emeritus Doris a. Graber (University of Illinois in Chicago) authored over 15 textbooks and 50 book chapters and lectures in political science and political commu- nication, focusing particularly on the psychological antecedents and consequences by which media content shapes political audiences’ prefe- rences. Her theoretical and empirical contributions, work that spans a rich academic career of over 70 years, cemented our academic re- search practices and inspired many generations of scholars

Back to black:values, ideologies, and the black box of political radicalization

This article focuses on the psychological drivers of anomic and violent behaviors described as ‘new radicalisms’ in the context of the Eurozone economic crisis. The authors make a conceptual and empirical distinction between the desire for change forward against the old (defined as radicalism) and the desire for change backward against the new (defined as reactionism). Using 2015 data from Greece, multinomial logit models test the role of core values that map on the desire for change against the new and the desire for change against the old as predictors of dormant and actualized anomic and violent behaviors. The findings support that desire for conservation triggered reactionist political engagement in Greece that spans across the left/right ideology spectrum

Grievance Politics : An Empirical Analysis of Anger through the Emotional Mechanism of Ressentiment

Special Issue, Negative Politics: Leader Personality, Negative Campaigning, and the Oppositional Dynamics of Contemporary Politics, edited by Alessandro Nai (University of Amsterdam), Diego Garzia (University of Lausanne), Loes Aaldering (Free University Amsterdam), Frederico Ferreira da Silva (University of Lausanne) and Katjana Gattermann (University of Amsterdam)In this article we undertake an empirical examination of the psychology of what is often called ‘the angry citizen’, highlighting ressentiment as an important emotional mechanism of grievance politics. Contrary to the short-lived, action-prone emotion of anger-proper, ressentiment transmutes the inputs of grievance politics like deprivation of opportunity, injustice, shame, humiliation, envy, and inefficacious anger, into the anti-social outputs of morally righteous indignation, destructive anger, hatred, and rage. Our empirical probe uses qualitative and quantitative analysis of 164 excerpts from interviews with US ‘angry citizens’ from Kimmel (2017), Hochschild (2016), and Faludi (2019). In these seemingly ‘angy’ excerpts, we find markers matching the psychological footprint of ressentiment instead of anger-proper: victimhood, envy, powerlessness; the defenses of splitting, projection and denial; preference for inaction, anti-preferences, and low efficacy. We conclude on the significance of the distinction between anger-proper and ressentiment for understanding the psychology of grievance politics.Peer reviewe

Feeling the pulse of the Greek Debt Crisis:: Affect on the web of blame

This article examines the affective content of Greek media representations of the debt crisis, from 2009 to 2012. We analyze the content of opinion pieces from journalists, experts and public intellectuals published in Greek newspapers, and identify their affective content tone towards political actors and institutions. We focus on anger, fear and hope, and identify blame attribution frames, which underpin the public’s trust and confidence in domestic and EU institutions. This article contributes to the systematic understanding of the impact of the debt crisis as a traumatic event on public opinion, and considers its implications for attitudes towards European integration

The Map to the Heart:an analysis of political affectivity in Turkey

This study examines the complexity of citizens’ political affectivity in Turkey. Drawing from componential models of affect, we rely on situational (motive consistent versus inconsistent) and motivational state (gain or loss) appraisals to test hypotheses on systematic differences in the clusters of political affect that span beyond the traditionally measured discrete emotional reactions of anger, hope, pride and fear. Using qualitative interview data from 2012, we develop a topography of affect clusters and systems of associations between political concepts. We find citizens express their emotionality in rich terms. They are linked to appraisals of multiple political objects, they reflect aversive, anxious, loss and gain oriented emotional responses, and they are guided by citizens’ ideological orientations. This study is valuable as it addresses a significant gap in the study of political affect going beyond their discrete categorizations. It introduces a mapping methodology as an effective way of capturing the complexity of affect systems, and it reveals powerful insights into the depth and richness of emotions based on appraisal dimensions, enriching our understanding of political tensions and developments in Turkish politics and beyond

Ressentiment in the Manosphere:Conceptions of Morality and Avenues for Resistance in the Incel Hatred Pipeline

This article investigates conceptions of morality within the framework of ressentimentful victimhood in the manosphere, while also exploring avenues for resistance among young individuals encountering the “hatred pipeline”. In Study 1, we use the emotional mechanism of ressentiment to examine how incels construct narratives of victimhood rooted in the notion of sexual entitlement that remains owed and unfulfilled, alongside its “black pill” variant emphasising moral and epistemic superiority. Through a linguistic corpus analysis and content examination of 4chan and Incel.is blog posts, we find evidence of ressentiment morality permeating the language and communication within the incel community, characterised by blame directed at women, and the pervasive themes of victimhood, powerlessness, and injustice. In Study 2, we delve into young individuals’ reflections on incel morality and victimhood narratives as they engage with online networks of toxic masculinity in the manosphere. Drawing from semi-structured interviews with young participants who have accessed the manosphere, we explore their perceptions of risks, attribution of blame, and experiences of empathy towards individuals navigating the “hatred pipeline”. Our analysis underscores the significance of ressentiment in elucidating alternative conceptions of morality and victimhood, while shedding light on the potential for acceptance or resistance within online environments characterised by hatred

The emotional economy of the European financial crisis in the UK press

This article examines the individual, collective, and social emotions embedded in media discussions of the financial crisis. Emotional experiences toward crises and the political institutions associated with them serve as valuable tools for understanding how citizens think and feel in the public sphere. We highlight over-time links between individual, collective, and social emotionality as we analyze the content of UK media representations of the European financial crisis from 2009 to 2012. We code editorials from journalists and commentaries from experts, public figures, and opinion leaders published in four UK newspapers and identify the valence and affective tone of individual, collective, and social expressions of anger, fear, disappointment, hope, pride, and compassion. We also examine how these interlinked levels of emotional talk underpin blame attributions. This article advances the systematic understanding of the impact of the financial crisis on public opinion and considers its contribution toward European integration attitudes as Brexit was introduced in public debates during this time.</p

The Anti-Social Triad of Grievance Politics:An Integrated Model of Reactionism, Ressentiment, and Collective Narcissism

In this article, we undertake a comprehensive examination of reactionism, ressentiment, and collective narcissism, collectively termed as the “ anti-social triad of grievance politics.” Although these constructs are conceptually distinct, they are psycholoically intricately linked. Reactionism denotes a backward-facing political orientation, ressentiment signifies a chronic and embittered emotional mechanism, and collective narcissism reflects a precarious and wounded psychological state. Together, they constitute a potent blend of anti-social sentiments within grievance politics, yet their interconnectedness is overlooked when they are studied in isolation. Our study pioneers in establishing original connections between reactionism, ressentiment, and collective narcissism, providing empirical evidence of their coexistence and interactions. We introduce a novel scale to measure reactionism and explore its associations with existing measures of ressentiment and collective narcissism, as well as their associations with values, authoritarianism, and populism. By elucidating the tight interplay among these phenomena, we offer valuable insights into their implications for responses to social change and the essence of democracy