The emotions of protest: Affective and reactive emotions in and around social movements

The recent explosion of cultural work on social movements has been highly cognitive in its orientation as though researchers were still reluctant to admit that strong emotions accompany protest. But such emotions do not render protestors irrational; emotions accompany all social action, providing both motivation and goals. Social movements are affected by transitory, context-specific emotions, usually reactions to information and events, as well as by mole stable affective bonds and loyalties. Some emotions exist or arise in individuals before they join protest groups; others are formed or reinforced in collective action itself The latter type can be further divided into shared and reciprocal emotions, the latter being feelings that protestors have toward each other.