‘Not far right, just right so far’

Despite the crucial role played by morality in populist politics, less attention has been paid in the literature to the role of the so-called ‘moral emotions’ of shame and pride in affective mobilisation. This article draws on an analysis of online discourse prior to and during the Dublin and Belfast race riots of 2023/24 to examine how such emotions are deployed in these milieux and how they are received by supporters. Alongside open-source material (for example, media reports) on the riots, analysis was conducted on publicly available social media posts and responses on Twitter/X, YouTube and Facebook as popular modes of communication for the populist right. The research found moral emotions, such as shame and its converse, pride, to be highly salient in the online discourse in a way that is highly consistent with the ressentiment literature. However, while existing literature has focused on the internal repression of shame, the research suggests a more open acknowledgement of the secondary shame associated with hard-right activism and its external redirection at ‘enemies of the people’. The article closes with an appeal for further research into the affective dynamics of populist parties as stigmatised groups.

Acknowledgement · Appeal · Pride · Salient · Shame · Social media · Emotions and Moral Behavior · Irish and British Studies · Populism, Right-Wing Movements