Brighi, E. 2019. The global politics of ugly feelings: pessimism and resentment in a mimetic world. in: Stevens, T. and Michelsen, Nicholas (ed.) Pessimism in International Relations Provocations, Possibilities, Politics Cham, Switzerland Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 101-117
| Chapter title | The global politics of ugly feelings: pessimism and resentment in a mimetic world |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brighi, E. |
| Editors | Stevens, T. and Michelsen, Nicholas |
| Abstract | Negative emotions are not what they used to be. As the world edges closer and closer to the brink of a dark political dystopia, sentiments of disenchantment such as pessimism and resentment stand out as dominant moods of our age. Despite being once endowed with a critical and creative potential, today these ‘ugly feelings’ sustain forms of politics that are ambivalent and equivocal. Against the background of a highly mimetic social ontology, where affects mutate into memes at dazzling speed, these sentiments of disenchantments are appropriated by the political right as well as the left, hanging dangerously between reaction and emancipation. The chapter provides a diagnosis of their re-emergence, highlighting their common phenomenological matrix, their shared dysphoric and non-cathartic nature, and their ambivalent political work. |
| Keywords | negative emotions |
| pessimism | |
| resentment | |
| Sigmund Freud | |
| Book title | Pessimism in International Relations Provocations, Possibilities, Politics |
| Page range | 101-117 |
| Year | 2019 |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 01 Jul 2019 |
| Place of publication | Cham, Switzerland |
| Series | Palgrave Studies in International Relations |
| ISBN | 9783030217792 |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21780-8 |
| File | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |