The Political Affectivity of Grievance Politics and Democratic Change

This paper explores the political affectivity of grievance politics and democratic change through a political psychology approach. Demands for socio-political change are at the forefront of citizens’ grievances, party manifestos and a key action point for the civil society. But what is the role of emotions in driving calls for political change? Do certain emotions determine the pace of change and the ways it will be achieved? Drawing upon appraisal theories, we hypothesise that emotions will have a differential effect on attitudes towards political change. Anger being a threat response associated with optimistic risk-assessment will drive calls for urgent change whereas fear being a defensive emotion driven by uncertainty will motivate risk-aversive behavior driving calls for reform-based changes. Hope being a prospective orientation that results from uncertainty will drive calls for reform-based changes whereas enthusiasm being a state of excitement that carries expectations for what is lying ahead will drive demands for urgent change. Support for mainstream parties and engagement with peaceful means of participation advocating reform-based change will be driven by fear and hope whereas support for populist parties and violent means of participation will be driven by anger and excitement. To test these hypotheses, we use data from a survey conducted in the UK in 2025 that explores the affective and motivational components that drive citizens’ demands for democratic change, party support and modes of political action. The findings contribute to existing studies that explore grievance politics and the affective undercurrent of calls for democratic change.