Beyond anger and fear : the demobilizing role of sadness in far-right voting in Spain
Galais Gonzàlez, Carolina (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Ruiz Hernández, María (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Date:	2025
Description:	27 pàg.
Abstract:	This study investigates emotional dynamics behind support for Vox in Spain, offering a case study of far-right support. It addresses prior research's narrow focus on anger and fear, and its tendency to treat emotions as stable traits. Using four waves of a Spanish panel (2020-2023), we analyse how emotional reactions to the 'most important problem' (MIP) influence voting intentions. Findings show that anger has a limited, reinforcing effect, while sadness can deactivate Vox's appeal over time. Although emotions have less explanatory power than MIPs, their influence is dynamic and politically relevant. Our results challenge assumptions about the centrality of anger and call for improved models of emotional mechanisms-especially those involving understudied emotions like sadness-in political behaviour research.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Anger ; Emotions ; Far-right ; Fear ; MIPs ; Panel data ; Spain ; Vox
Published in:	South European Society and Politics, Vol. 30, Num. 3 (2025) , p. 413-439, ISSN 1743-9612

DOI: 10.1080/13608746.2025.2529211

Available from: 2027-03-30 Postprint 25 p, 497.9 KB

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