Beyond anger and fear: the demobilizing role of sadness in far-right voting in Spain

Abstract

This study investigates emotional dynamics behind support for Vox in Spain, offering a case study of far-right support. It addresses prior research’s narrow focus on anger and fear, and its tendency to treat emotions as stable traits. Using four waves of a Spanish panel (2020–2023), we analyse how emotional reactions to the ‘most important problem’ (MIP) influence voting intentions. Findings show that anger has a limited, reinforcing effect, while sadness can deactivate Vox’s appeal over time. Although emotions have less explanatory power than MIPs, their influence is dynamic and politically relevant. Our results challenge assumptions about the centrality of anger and call for improved models of emotional mechanisms–especially those involving understudied emotions like sadness–in political behaviour research.