The emotional logic of populist communication: a systematic review

This article systematically reviews recent empirical research on the role of emotions in populist politics. Following PRISMA guidelines, we review 51 peer-reviewed studies published between 2017 and 2024 across political science, psychology, communication, and sociology. We examine how populism is conceptualised, how emotions are measured, and what evidence exists regarding their role in populist mobilisation. We distinguish between two main strands of research — audience-centred studies that examine emotional drivers of populist support, and message-centred studies that analyse the strategic use of emotions in populist communication. Across methods (including surveys, experiments, qualitative analyses, and computational studies), anger consistently emerges as the most powerful emotional correlate of populist attitudes, followed by fear, resentment, and nostalgia. Studies of communication strategies show that populist actors systematically use emotionally charged narratives, blame frames, and identity-based appeals, often amplified through online environments that reward high-arousal content. Topic modelling further highlights recurring themes linking emotional mobilisation, social identity dynamics, online engagement, and nostalgic narratives. Overall, our review shows that emotions operate simultaneously as psychological drivers in audiences and as strategic tools of political communication. We conclude by outlining the need for an integrated theoretical framework connecting individual emotional processes, collective identity dynamics, and contemporary media environments in the study of populist mobilisation.