Political Depression and Moral Positioning: Gendered and Generational Pathways of Emotional Management in China

• In Event: Joint Roundtables: Social Psychology Section and Sociology of Emotions Section
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 5 - Politics

Abstract

Across both democratic and authoritarian contexts, the strengthening of autocratic tendencies is often accompanied not only by protest and anger but also by quieter and more enduring forms of despair. In the aftermath of recent U.S. presidential elections and amid intensified political control in China, many citizens reported exhaustion, disappointment, and declining political efficacy. I conceptualize this condition as political depression, a persistent and low-arousal emotional orientation that emerges when political agency is experienced as structurally constrained. While political sociology has extensively examined mobilizing emotions such as anger and grievance, chronic and low intensity negative affect has received far less attention. Drawing on Power-Status Theory and Affect Control Theory, this study understands political depression as the result of sustained perceptions of civic powerlessness and unresolved discrepancies between moral expectations and political realities. Focusing on mainland China, where constraints on collective action make these mechanisms particularly visible, the study draws on interviews with intellectuals and cultural professionals, with data collection ongoing. Preliminary findings suggest that political depression does not simply lead to disengagement. Instead, participants actively transform this emotion into alternative forms of involvement and solidarity. Many seek out like-minded communities and cultivate networks of shared concern. Moreover, rather than fleeing from all the bad feelings, participants tend to integrate political depression into their moral identity.

Author

• Caicai Du