In our latest blogpost #11 by Prof. Tereza Capelos, we argue that grievance politics grows when policies ignore how people feel. ⚖️Emotionally attuned co-production is essential for rebuilding trust and democratic resilience in times of crisis. 🧠Read more: www.pledgeproject.eu/pledge-blog-...

Unhappiness doesn’t silence citizens. It mobilises them. 🔥🗣️ When grievance circulates, politics follows. Read more: www.pledgeproject.eu/unhappiness-... #GrievancePolitics #PoliticalEmotions #Democracy #CivicEngagement #Unhappiness #PoliticalParticipation

- Myriad tractors 🚜 running on burning emotion, not fuel 🔥. This isn’t just about agriculture or policy tweaks. It’s a masterclass in how grievance, identity, and storytelling turn protest into political pressure.

🔍In this expert interview, Professor Tereza Capelos unpacks how grievance functions as an emotional anchor shaping political behaviour. ▶️ Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel or via the link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO5p... #GrievancePolitics #Populism #Democracy #PoliticalPsychology

Politics stops solving problems. Then it starts blaming people. In our new clip, Dr. Gabriella Szabo unpacks how blame and emotional manipulation fuel grievance politics and polarisation. 👉 Watch and reflect: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOOK...

In Part II 🔥 of PLEDGE's Blog Post: Youth Radicalism in Europe, Ayhan Kaya unpacks how nativist and Muslim-origin youth are co-radicalised by shared experiences of precarity, marginalisation, and political neglect. Read more: www.pledgeproject.eu/pledge-blog-... #Democracy #grievances #extremism

Reporting live from Athens 🇬🇷, the first day of PLEDGE’s meeting kicked off a couple of hours ago. The consortium is already knee-deep in discussions, agendas, and mildly heroic levels of coffee ☕. More updates will follow as the sessions unfold and the real work begins 🔎✨. #PLEDGE #DEMOCRACY #EU

PLEDGE invites everyone to the book launch of "The Birth and Death of Liberal Democracy in Hungary" on 8 December 2025. The event will explore how polarisation has reshaped democratic life, with insights from Emilia Palonen and international experts. Participation is available online. 📚✨

Our workshop “From Understanding to Action: Co-Creating Democratic Innovation with CSOs” was a great success!!! 🎉 🙌A big thank you to all civil society practitioners, partners and contributors who shared their insights and experiences. #PLEDGE #GrievancePolitics #Innovation

🎥 New PLEDGE fieldwork insight 🧠Pasko’s video shows how small cracks in daily life turn into polarization, distrust and emotional pressure points. PLEDGE works to decode these mechanisms and turn them into tools for smarter, emotionally aware democratic governance. #PLEDGE #Grievances #democracy

📢 Are you a CSO or NGO representative interested in strengthening democratic innovation? Secure your position by registering, via www.pledgeproject.eu/pledge-invit... #PLEDGEproject #Workshop #Democracy #EU

Across Europe, young people are searching for belonging in divided societies. Some turn to nationalism, others to religion — but both paths reveal a deeper crisis of meaning and connection. Read PLEDGE Blog post #9 👉 www.pledgeproject.eu/pledge-blog-... #PLEDGE #democracy #radicalisation

🌀 PLEDGE Blog #8 When crisis hits, emotions become the jet fuel of our information ecosystem. 📖 Read more: www.pledgeproject.eu/fear-anger-a... #PLEDGE #Disinformation #ClimateCrisis #MediaLiteracy #EmotionsInPolitics

📣 Join us for two keynote lectures as part of the symposium “Historicizing Populism: From the Classics to the Contemporary”, hosted by the University of Helsinki within the PLEDGE Project. 💻 Watch live: video.helsinki.fi/unitube/live... #PLEDGE #Populism #Democracy #PoliticalScience #PublicTalks

🌍 When was the last time you were trained by three top-notch EU projects simultaneously? 👉 Learn more: www.pledgeproject.eu/joint-worksh... 🎟 Register now via the link or QR code and be part of this collaborative discussion! #PolicyMaking #ResearchToPolicy #PLEDGE #PolicyInnovation

🎧 “Life is Crap” — Hungary’s viral anthem — turns youth frustration into protest. When music meets grievance politics, pain becomes power and despair becomes solidarity. 💥🇭🇺 Listen here 👉https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS2xr9mxD0s #PLEDGEProject #GrievancePolitics #YouthVoices #CulturalResistance

In the latest PLEDGE blog from the UNIWARSAW team, we explore how debates around gender justice often devolve into zero-sum battles over who has more suffering — fueling resentment and polarization. 🔗 Read more: www.pledgeproject.eu/pledge-blog-... #democracy #EU #grievance #Politics

🌍PLEDGE’s work is more relevant than ever, as Starmer condemns Farage’s “politics of grievance”. ➡️Read the full article and see the relevant video here: www.bbc.com/news/article... #PLEDGE #Democracy

In today’s hyper-competitive world, people dismiss what they couldn’t achieve as “undesirable” while recasting themselves as righteous victims. 👉 Discover more here: www.pledgeproject.eu/the-sour-gra... #GrievancePolitics #SourGrapesEffect #Democracy #EU

📢 Call for Papers is now open! 📝 Submit your paper or panel proposal by 31 October 2025! 👉 Visit our website for more information: www.pledgeproject.eu/call-for-pap... #democracy #EU #PLEDGE #grievances #politics #governance #CallForPapers

Joy is short-lived—but it forms lasting memories and can be deeply social. We explore how joy strengthens group identity and brings people together in moments of political meaning. 🧪 Learn why joy matters for democracy: mores-horizon.eu/glossary/joy #MORESresearch #Emotions #Society #HorizonEU

How can collective emotions -and cardboard- fuel democracy under the strain of war? 👉 Read the full blogpost here: www.pledgeproject.eu/pledge-blog-... #Ukraine #CardboardRevolution #Democracy #PoliticalEmotions #CivicEngagement #PLEDGE #EU

🌍🤝 PLEDGE consortium members were present at the #ECPR conference in Thessaloniki 🇬🇷 (26 – 29 August 2025), engaging in key debates on democracy, governance & grievance politics. 💬✨ Stay tuned — more posts & insights coming soon!!! #democracy #EU

Georgia, on the Eastern flank of Europe, shows how deeply grievance politics can shift a nation’s trajectory. 🔗 This New York Times article takes an in-depth & personal look at this dramatic transformation: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/m... #Democracy #EU #Autocracy #Europe #grievance

🔎 How is resentment marketed in today’s political landscape—and what does it mean for democracy? Our -own- Steering Committee Chair, Mikko Salmela, joins the discussion alongside other experts. 📖 Read the Eurozine article and watch the attached video: www.eurozine.com/marketing-re...

🌍 Emotions drive action—but not always equally. 💡 PLEDGE shows: shared feelings fuel 🌱 climate protests, but not 🛂 immigration ones. ✨ Context matters for civic engagement! 👉 Read more: www.pledgeproject.eu/pledge-blog-... #Democracy #CivicEngagement #EU

😤Is this what democracy should feel like? 💔Is our modern Idemocracy shaped more by emotions than by ideals. 🔗Find out more by following the link: www.pledgeproject.eu/an-overview-... #democracyincrisis #affectivepolitics #PLEDGEproject #populism #polarization #democracy

📢 New Blog Alert! How is the far-right thriving in today’s social media age? 📝 Read PLEDGE Blog Post #4 🔗https://www.pledgeproject.eu/pledge-blog-post-4-by-ulund-team-far-right-politics-in-the-age-of-social-media-where-grievance-meets-entertainment/ #PLEDGEproject #FarRight #SocialMediaPolitics

🧠How can we design democratic processes that truly feel public? 📘 Read the full report here: 🔗https://www.pledgeproject.eu/report-on-design-principles-for-emotion-sensitive-policy-making-wp6-pledge-project-on-zenodo/ #PLEDGEproject #PolicyDesign #democracy

🗣️On Ressentiment, Victimhood, and Revanchism How is populism in Turkey shaped? (📌This endeavor, delivered by Ayhan Kaya, Senior Researcher from the Istanbul Bilgi University and member of our Steering Committee, is available only in Turkish.) 👉Read more: www.yeniarayis.com/yazi/ressent...

Our sister project is running an impactful EU-wide survey, “Emotions in Politics,” examining how emotions shape public opinion on critical EU topics. 🔗 Take the survey now and contribute your perspective: 👉 crowdsourcing.ecas.org/en/Mores

🔍 The PLEDGE Codebook v.1 unpacks the emotional logic behind protests, polarization, and civic engagement—with real-world examples, emotional mechanisms, and research-ready tools. 📥 Interested in exploring more? Download the full document here: www.pledgeproject.eu/research-rep...

PLEDGE Blog Post #3 📰 Why are citizens across Europe feeling alienated from democratic processes? What fuels the growing sense of disconnection from institutions meant to represent them? 📍Read it here: www.pledgeproject.eu/pledge-blog-...

📢 NEW RELEASE: PLEDGE Conceptual Framework v1 At the heart of the framework are two emotional engines: 💢 EMRes: Resentment, hostility, polarization; 💞 EMSoS: Empathy, solidarity, action. 📘 Download the full report here: www.pledgeproject.eu/research-rep.... 🔗 Visit our website: www.pledgeproject.eu.

Across Europe, anti-immigrant rhetoric by right-wing populists is fueling real violence. 🎙️Prof. Bilewicz: When hate is normalized, attacks follow—as in Poland, 2015. This isn’t an isolated phenomenon. 🧠 #PLEDGE studies this shift. 📚[PL] Read more: pap.pl/aktualnosci/... 🌍 pledgeproject.eu

When people feel unheard, humiliated, excluded… They don’t compromise. They withdraw. Or retaliate. 🧠 PLEDGE maps the reasons behind that. You can’t fix what you don’t feel. 📘 This and many more to come at Grievance Politics Briefings. 🔗 Read more: www.pledgeproject.eu/1-what-is-gr... Stay tuned.

🗣️ Politics making you miserable? You’re not imagining it. Is it all just toxic rhetoric, or a deeper emotional divide? Read More 👇 🔗https://www.pledgeproject.eu/pledge-blog-post-2-by-css-team-are-political-discussions-making-us-unhappy/ #PLEDGEproject #PoliticalCommunication #EmotionsInPolitics

Why do we fear the poor? This TED Talk unpacks aporophobia—the rejection of poverty—and how it fuels grievance politics. At PLEDGE, we explore these emotional drivers of exclusion & how to build an inclusive democracy. 🎥https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZODPxP68zT0 🔗http://pledgeproject.eu

📢 Save the Date: June 26 | Brussels Smarter Together Workshop: Emotions in Policy Making—How to Master Emotions to Better Solve Public Problems With Dr. Thomas Legein & Prof. Dr. Karen Celis (PLEDGE, VUB) 🔗https://linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7329057878122598400/ 👉 Don’t miss it!

💭Climate change isn’t just technical—it’s emotional. Our new blog post looks at how frustration, fear, and hope can shape how people respond to green policies—and how those emotions can be a force for democratic connection. 👉Read the full piece here: l1nq.com/7mc7R #EMSoS #DemocraticInnovation

🚨 The 2nd #PLEDGEProject Newsletter is out! Discover our scientific progress so far + where we’ve presented the project at key meetings & conferences. 🧪🌍 📰 Read it here: www.pledgeproject.eu/category/new... #Newsletter #Research #ScienceInAction #EUprojects #Collaboration

💙Today on Emotion Awareness Day, we highlight the power of emotions in shaping democracy. @mores-project.bsky.social @protemo.bsky.social @cidape.bsky.social ape.bsky.social‬ @encodemotion.bsky.social #EmotionAwarenessDaya#EmotionsInDemocracycy

🔥 Can the arts heal divides? At the Arts Festival Summit in Edinburgh, the PLEDGE Horizon Project tackled polarisation, free speech & grievance politics. 💡 Kirsten Xanthippe (Univ. of Southampton) shared how social media fuels polarisation & grievance politics. #FreeSpeech#Democracy#PerformingArts

🔊How do political grievances and ressentiment shape freedom of expression in polarized societies? 👉Join Tereza Capelos at the 69th Pearl* Conference in Athens on May 23 as she explores grievance politics, ressentiment, and artistic freedom. 🔗https://shorturl.at/i38G2

🔊How do EU policies make you feel? The @mores-project.bsky.social is seeking your opinion on how these key EU policies affect you: - Climate Action - War in Ukraine - Food Safety - Migration - Fiscal Policy Engage in crowdsourcing and ensure your voice is heard: crowdsourcing.ecas.org/en/Mores

Updates from Budapest! On the final day of the #PLEDGEproject Budapest meeting, we hosted a dynamic Meet & Greet with local policymakers, NGOs & think tanks. 🌉 Real dialogue on emotional governance & democratic resilience. Grateful to all who joined us! 🤝 #DemocraticInnovation #PolicyMaking

📢 The pledge work is as relevant as ever! 📰 Read the article by Francis Fukuyama reflecting on the Trump administration’s first 100 days. 🔗https://www.persuasion.community/p/100-days-of-ressentiment utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share

The #PLEDGEproject met in Budapest (Apr 23–25) for 3 days of collaboration, research sharing & strategic planning. 🔹 Policy design 🔹 Impact strategy 🔹 Sibling project roundtable 🔹 Stakeholder meet-up More info 👉 www.pledgeproject.eu/pledge-conso... #HorizonEU #Democracy

PLEDGE's Starter pack is out! Join our BlueSky Starter pack to follow our favorite feeds and people!!!

📢 New Policy Brief Alert! Grievance politics is on the rise, posing challenges for democracy in the EU. But what if we could turn grievances into opportunities for positive change? 🤔💡 📖 Read more: www.pledgeproject.eu/.../publica.... #PledgeProject #EUPolicy #GrievancePolitics