Harold Laswell’s (1936) understanding of politics as involving “who gets what, when, how” has typically been applied to material rewards, positions of power and status goods. However, there is also a distributive politics of emotion concerned with who gets to feel what, when, and how and whose feelings matter. This kind of politics can be seen in various globally salient issues studied within the field of International Relations, for example in struggles over how to deal with the legacies of colonialism, slavery, atrocities, and civil wars—be it whose feelings matter in shaping acts, objects, and sites of commemoration, who is entitled to pride or anger, or who is obligated to feel remorse or shame. The workshop will explore such ongoing political struggles as they unfold around the world. The workshop brings together leading scholars working on the role of emotions in International Relations.

For questions related to this workshop, please contact Karl Gustafsson, karl.gustafsson@ekohist.su.se.