The project is entitled, 'Identity, Emotions and Political Mobilisation' and the research explores the relevance of emotions as a trigger for political mobilisation in Western liberal democracies. This is not to assume that emotions are either the only, the most important or the indispensable trigger for political mobilisation. Instead, the research considers to what extent emotions have the power to modify and transform the ways in which people, circumstances, actions and objectives are evaluated thus affecting individuals’ disposition to act.
This research studies the role of emotions in selected processes of political mobilisation related to nations, nationalism and national identity thus opening up a novel avenue to the study of social movements and complementing other approaches.
The project will examine three case-studies: Britain, Catalonia and Greece.
Research questions: Can rational and emotional arguments be reconciled in the quest for political mobilisation? To what extent international politics are influenced by emotional considerations or feelings?