Cengiz Erisen Presented the Report on 'Emotions and Political Participation'

On October 27 a research seminar on political economy took place at HSE. Cengiz Erisen (TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Turkey) spoke on 'Emotions and Political Participation'.

Abstract:

This study seeks an answer as to how emotions motivate citizens to become politically more involved. Current literature on this topic has distinguished between participation to politics in general and participation to social movements. Following the same approach, this project experimentally tests the effects of anxiety, anger, and enthusiasm on the two domains of political participation. By manipulating these emotions in two experimental studies I examine whether emotions are integral in generating the action tendencies that lead to political participation, especially in times of polarization and electoral decisions. Findings show that whilst anxiety motivates greater interest in politics, anger decreases the same likelihood. As opposed to these results, anger and enthusiasm fuel participation to social movements whilst anxiety reduces the same propensity. These results are further discussed within the context of Turkey and the broader scholarly literature.