"Emotion, Politics and Society" critically addresses the intersection between power, politics and the emotions. This is a very timely project given the centrality of mass emotions such as fear and humiliation on the world stage today. Challenging traditional dichotomies which counterpose rationalist to non-rationalist epistemologies, it offers a sustained argument for a more complete and integrated rationalism and helps us understand emotions in contemporary social and political life, for example, racism, populism, mass grief, political protest and processes of paranoia and terror.

Social policy and political theory are based upon rationalist models of the human subject. Drawing particularly upon contemporary Kleinian and feminist political theory the author explores the powerful role that emotions such as love, hate and fear play in the development of the human subject. From this base the book then examines a range of contemporary issues such as employment, dependency, care and generosity, conflict and oppression which are relevant to struggles around the welfare state.

This timely book critically addresses the intersection between power, politics and emotions. Challenging traditional dichotomies which counterpose rationalist to non-rationalist epistemologies, it offers a sustained argument for a more complete and integrated rationalism and helps us understand emotions in contemporary social and political life.