"Populism Performing Democracy: Collective Emotions, Political Narratives, and Social Identities"

Describing populism as irrationality or deviance is misleading. Instead, populism is a heuristic coalescing social demands and grievances to generate collective decision-making. Emotions are processes that lead individuals to identify with, and act in accordance with, social groups. Populism brings to the fore affective imaginaries of trust and of distrust, of love and of hate, challenging political representation and fueling polarization. The mobilization of social identities serves to reify dominant groups and reproduce or contest the exclusion of marginalized populations. Democratic thinking must therefore critically examine how political demands are continually constructed in relation to historical, cultural, and social identities. With contributions from scholars convened by the UNPOP International Colloquium in Coimbra, Portugal (January 2024), this documentary provides critical insights into the interplay between emotions, narratives, and identities in politics. It posits a nuanced, multi-perspective approach to democracy as a socially constructed achievement.