Joint Session of the Research Networks “Sociology of Emotions“ (RN11) and „Political Sociology“ (RN32) at the 17th ESA Conference "Strengthening Democracies: Social Action, Solidarity, and Sustainable Futures", Warsaw, Poland, from 25 to 28 August 2026.

The joint panel of the ESA RN 32 Political Sociology and the RN 11 Sociology of Emotions will deal with the topic of grievance politics. Grievance politics consist of specific emotional repertoires and strategies of managing and regulating political emotions that are notably different from those of established party-based, representative politics. These include, in particular, the incitement and exploitation of various negative emotions, such as anger, fear, and resentment, directed at various marginalized groups in society as well as at political, cultural, and media elites. They also include strategies of blaming and the crafting and dissemination of narratives of collective victimhood. The proposed panel will bring together contributions from political sociology and the sociology of emotions as well as political psychology and political communication studies that address various aspects and dimensions, as well as causes and consequences of grievance politics. The panel aims to illuminate how emotionalized grievances are articulated, circulated, and institutionalized in contemporary politics. It welcomes theoretical and empirical contributions and a broad range of methodological approaches with the common aim of understanding the collective emotional underpinnings of grievances and grievance politics, and their implications for a democratic polity. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the discursive construction of grievances; the role of framing in sustaining collective victimhood; and the interaction between political actors and audiences in producing emotionally charged narratives that challenge or reshape the political order.

Coordinators: Christian von Scheve, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, c.vs@fu-berlin.de Gabriella Szabo, ELTE Centre for Social Sciences, Hungary, szabo.gabriella@tk.mta.hu Mikko Salmela, University of Helsinki, Finland, mikko.salmela@helsinki.fi

Details & Information: https://europeansociology.org/event/72289cd7-b8ad-447e-8477-88443e61b8ec