In a survey asking how British citizens had registered their feelings towards the government’s actions in committing British troops to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, 46% reported that they had opposed the policy, 30% of whom had taken some form of protest action. Asked whether they expected at the time that their actions would influence the government, 2% said that they had ‘high hopes’, 9% ‘some hope’ and 52% ‘no hope’. Asked how much actual impact they believed their actions to have had, 5% thought ‘little effect’ and 65% ‘no effect’. Asked whether they thought at the time that their actions would influence public opinion, 8% had ‘high hopes’ and 37% ‘some hope’, and asked whether they believed that their actions actually affected the public mood, 48% believed that they had, with 12% reflecting that their actions had a ‘large effect’. The aim of this paper is to develop three theoretical arguments. Firstly, that the circulation of affects is a significant element of contemporary collective action. Secondly, that the Internet offers particular opportunities for affective mobilisation. Thirdly, that much of this mobilisation has little chance of producing desired policy effects, but that there is scope for the policy-making process to take a more affective turn.
