Sour grapes: <i>ressentiment</i> as the affective response of grievance politics

This article examines the psychological orientations and political preferences of citizens ‘in ressentiment’, a particular state that is characteristic feature contemporary grievance politics. Similarly to Fox in Aesop’s ‘Fable sour grapes’, ressentiment value an impotent self desirable but unattainable object change morally superior unwanted object, while maintaining aura victimhood [Demertzis, 2020. The Political Sociology Emotions. Essays on Trauma Ressentiment. London: Routledge; Salmela Capelos, 2021. “Ressentiment: A Complex Emotion or Emotional Mechanism Psychic Defences?” Politics Governance 9 (3): 191–203]. complex conceptualization often deters its empirical operationalization, explains lack available instruments. We address this double lacuna by presenting novel 6-item scale launched 7th Round World Value Survey Greece, applying it examine manifestations populist European context. Our findings point toxic hostile emotionality extends beyond anger, low efficacy negative relationship with knowledge scientific evidence, reliance conservation reactionary values aversion emancipatory values, inactive stance, hollow social contact precarious collective identities. discuss implications recognizing as significant affective driver far-right, populist, nativist, nationalist