Feeling States

In line with this year’s theme on rising authoritarianism, this session seeks to study states through an emotional/affective lens. Aiming to refine analyses of authoritarian currents with an integral perspective on the state, it invites empirical and theoretical affect- and emotion sensitive perspectives on state institutions and their relations to civil society.

That political actors are not merely rational has been demonstrated by (feminist) sociologists of affect and emotion for decades. Their analyses focus on emotional conditions of individual political actors, institutional feeling rules and the (de)mobilizing political potential of affect. With an integral perspective on the state, this session seeks to generate a dialogue that transcends the classical organizational boundaries of state institutions. Centring the transpersonal and relational nature of affect, it furthermore invites a collective inquiry about the role of affects and emotions beyond its impact on individual actors. This conversation can be inspired by the following questions: what can the study of emotions and affects teach us on the relationship between civil society and state apparatuses? How can affects and emotions be conceptualized in a supra-individual manner, allowing to study not only social movements but also their absence? What traces do affective atmospheres leave politically and how do they impact future state formations? And finally, how can we mobilize the tradition of sociology of emotions for a study for current authoritarian states, consent to authoritarian politics, authoritarianism from below or, crucially, counter projects?

Presentations should not exceed 20 minutes, empirical and theoretical contributions are welcome.