Emotional Predictors of Populism in the Case of Turkey

Abstract

Individual-level indicators of populist attitudes vary from basic demographic factors to complex psychological dimensions. However, only a handful of studies have examined how emotions shape populist attitudes. To address this gap, and using observational data from Turkey, a context driven by strong polarization and populist politics, this study first examines how emotions—specifically, anger and enthusiasm—motivate distinct routes to populist attachment. It then explores the conditional effects of emotions in connection with political ideology and a conspiracy mindset. The results demonstrate, first, that anger is closely related to populist attitudes in contrast to enthusiasm, which is associated with weaker populist attitudes. Second, in the context of Turkey, where a populist party has been in power, there is an ideological asymmetry in that those on the political right are more influenced by anger than enthusiasm. Third, these emotions are potentially more effective in altering the populist views of those with low levels of conspiratorial mindset. Contributing to the literature on the connection between emotions and populism, this study presents evidence on how anger and enthusiasm influence populist preferences in a polarized country.