The Affective Politics of Political Movements: Structures of Feeling, Political Resonance Machines, and Hotspots

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By employing Amin and Thrift's (2013) conceptual lens of 'affective politics', my research aims to explain - at least in part - the emergence and relativepopularity of new political movements that express dissatisfaction with the 'status quo' in the 'West'. My initial contention is that any explanation as tothe rise of these movements would be incomplete without an appreciation of their affective dimensions. The complex and multi-faceted reasons behindpeople's support for these movements will be explored by using i) Sverigedemokraterna's campaign in the run up to the 2018 Swedish Parliamentaryelections and ii) support for Jeremy Corbyn in the run-up to the 2020 UK election as my case studies. By engaging with the 'affective turn', thisresearch responds to calls by political geographers to explore the concept of 'affect' as it enables us to appreciate the affective nature of politics. Withinthe broader lens of 'affective politics', I will use the concepts of 'structures of feeling' (Williams, 1997), 'political resonance machines' (Connolly, 2005,2011), and 'affective atmospheres' (Anderson, 2009, 2014) to frame my discussion. I will propose that 'hotspots' - events that form part of politicalmovements, such as rallies and public meetings - are integral to fuelling momentum behind political movements - and that affective atmospheresproduced at hotspots reverberate beyond their initial sites of production, through word of mouth, the national press, and social media.