By Carmen Chang,
On April 2, 2021, the international conference “Lo emocional es político. Nuevos enfoques en historia contemporánea” (“The Emotional is Political: New Approaches in Contemporary History”) was held jointly at Université Paris Nanterre and Sorbonne Université. A key speaker at this event was Professor Mercedes Arbaiza, a historian from the University of the Basque Country (UPV). Her lecture offered an innovative and interdisciplinary reflection on how emotions, traditionally relegated to the private sphere, have become central to understanding political behavior, collective identity, and the evolution of modern societies.
The conference centered on a fundamental proposition: emotions are not apolitical. Rather, they are deeply embedded in the construction of historical narratives and the formation of political subjectivities. Professor Arbaiza drew from the fields of affective epistemology, political theory, and social history to examine how emotions act not only as internal experiences but also as public forces that mobilize societies.
A Post-Metaphysical Approach to Subjectivity
At the heart of Arbaiza’s presentation was a call to rethink epistemological frameworks in the human sciences. She argued that the study of history must move beyond classical metaphysical conceptions of truth and subjectivity and instead consider post-metaphysical processes of subjectivities — a term that refers to how individuals become political subjects through their experiences, beliefs, and, importantly, their emotions.
This new historical lens situates emotions at the core of how people relate to political realities. Far from being irrational or secondary, emotions are primary modes of engaging with the world, shaping perceptions of justice, injustice, and belonging.
Jean-Baptiste Chapuy
Emotions and Political Mobilization
One of the central themes of the talk was the role of emotions in driving political action. Professor Arbaiza asserted that modern political mobilizations are grounded in what she called affective epistemologies—modes of knowing and understanding the world through emotional experience. These affective dimensions underpin the rise of populist movements, mass protests, and even digital activism.
To illustrate this point, Arbaiza referenced contemporary case studies such as Trumpism in the United States and the Yellow Vest (Gilets Jaunes) protests in France. Both movements were fueled by feelings of anger, alienation, and disenchantment with established political systems. These emotions, far from being spontaneous or irrational outbursts, were shown to be historically and socially situated responses to perceived economic and political injustices.
According to Arbaiza, social antagonism often finds expression through affective channels. When institutional mechanisms fail to address public grievances, emotional responses like rage, fear, pride, and indignation become the primary vehicles for political engagement. In this sense, the emotional becomes the political, and politics becomes a contested terrain of emotional expression.
Indignation, Truth, and the Post-War Era
The presentation also explored the historical evolution of truth and subjectivism in the political sphere, particularly in the aftermath of World War II. The emergence of what Arbaiza termed the “indignant society” in 1945 marked a turning point. In the ruins of fascism and the Holocaust, emotions such as grief, shame, and moral outrage became central to the reconstitution of political subjectivities across Europe.
Arbaiza suggested that indignation, in particular, gained new relevance as both a moral and political emotion. It became a legitimizing force for activism, protest, and resistance, especially among populations who felt silenced or excluded. From the anti-colonial struggles of the mid-20th century to the anti-austerity movements of the 21st century, indignation continues to function as an effective response to structural injustice.
However, this emotionalization of political life also raises epistemological challenges. If emotions are central to politics, can they be trusted as reliable guides to truth or justice? Arbaiza addressed this tension by questioning the limits of emotional authenticity and the potential for emotional manipulation in the public sphere, especially in the age of social media and viral outrage.
Emotions, the Body, and Social Reality
A significant portion of the conference was devoted to affective epistemology, which examines how knowledge is shaped not only by reason and logic but also by bodily experience and emotional resonance. Arbaiza argued that emotions are not merely internal, psychological states. They are also corporeal and social phenomena that reflect and reproduce the structures of the world around us.
This perspective connects individual feelings to broader political and historical processes. Emotions such as fear, empathy, and despair are deeply entangled with power relations, cultural norms, and ideological discourses. For instance, public mourning after political violence can become a site of resistance, just as collective rage can become a tool of mobilization.
Arbaiza emphasized the importance of reading emotions as social signs, capable of revealing deeper truths about inequality, conflict, and transformation. In doing so, she challenged the traditional division between rational public discourse and irrational private feeling, arguing instead that emotions are integral to how societies make sense of themselves.
Class, Gender, and Emotional Politics
In the latter part of her presentation, Professor Arbaiza examined the intersections of gender, class, and emotion in historical context. Focusing on the Spanish working class during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, she explored how emotional experiences were key to the formation of political identities among laborers, women, and marginalized groups.
Major strikes, she noted, were not only acts of economic resistance but also emotional events. Workers experienced pain, frustration, and despair, but also solidarity, hope, and pride. These emotions were crucial in generating collective action and sustaining long-term struggles. Likewise, women’s emotional labor, often confined to the domestic sphere, played a vital role in maintaining community cohesion and resistance.
Arbaiza also touched upon how emotional suffering—such as the grief of losing a loved one in a mining accident or the humiliation of state repression—could be repoliticized as part of a larger narrative of injustice. In this way, emotional expressions became vehicles of political agency, helping to reshape class consciousness and public discourse.
Emotions and the Future of Historical Inquiry
In her conclusion, Mercedes Arbaiza reaffirmed the importance of integrating emotion into historical methodology. She called for a historiography that treats emotions not as marginal curiosities, but as core components of political life. Emotions, she argued, are fundamentally collective, embedded in institutions, rituals, languages, and memories.
This approach demands that historians attend to how emotional regimes change over time, how emotions are distributed unevenly across social hierarchies, and how they influence political decisions and alignments. By acknowledging the emotional foundations of political behavior, scholars can develop more nuanced interpretations of the past and more responsive analyses of the present.
The conference offered a powerful challenge to traditional, rationalist understandings of politics and history. It opened new avenues for critical research on the emotional lives of individuals and communities, especially those whose experiences have been neglected or suppressed in dominant narratives.
Final Thoughts
“Lo emocional es político” was more than an academic event; it was a call to reconceptualize the very frameworks through which we understand power, protest, and participation. Professor Arbaiza’s insights demonstrate that emotions are not obstacles to political thought—they are constitutive elements of it. By placing affect at the center of historical analysis, we are better equipped to understand how individuals become political subjects, how movements emerge, and how societies evolve.
Reference
- Arbaiza, M. (2021). “Lo emocional es político. Nuevos enfoques en historia contemporánea.” Conference at Nanterre and Sorbonne Université.
