Nationalism and Populism: Emotion, Reason, and the Crisis of Contemporary Democracy

This volume explores the connections between emotions and rationality in relation to the rising tide of nationalism in the European Union and globally. It brings together leading experts in philosophy, psychology, political theory, and sociology to provide interdisciplinary perspectives on this timely topic. This volume starts from the hypothesis that certain political emotions—such as feelings of being disrespected or left behind—are complex cognitive-emotional attitudes often wedded to nationalism. Currently, people who harbor these feelings are frequently critical of transnational projects. This volume presents new interdisciplinary research on the ways in which these feelings feed nationalistic fervour and how emotions affect or even undermine rational discourse in politics. Part I focuses on distinguishing kinds of nationalism, their resurgence, and on the use of grievances and resentful politics as governing strategies. Part II moves toward a discussion of knowledge, democracy and populism and a case study of political reasoning in the Catalan independence conflict. In Part III, authors discuss how emotional processes fuel nationalism through the exploitation of anger and fear. Part IV closes this volume reflecting how populism and nationalism challenge transnational projects and organizations, such as the European Union. Nationalism and Populism: Emotions, Reason, and the Crisis of Contemporary Democracy will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in political philosophy, philosophy of emotion and rationality, political theory, cognitive, social and political psychology, and political sociology.

• Publication date: 30 August 2026
• Page count: 246
• Dimensions: Height 229 mm; Width 152 mm
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Format: Hardback
• ISBN-13: 9781032538655