Emotional Governance

This lucid and original work argues for a new style of political leadership, one which pays deliberate and sophisticated attention to the emotional dynamics of the public. In exploring this basic idea of 'emotional governance', Barry Richards also examines the often unhelpful contributions of the news media to the 'emotional public sphere'. A case study of terrorism, as a highly emotional topic and as a key political issue in many liberal democracies, grounds the book's ideas in today's political landscape.

This lucid and original work argues for a new style of political leadership, one which pays deliberate and sophisticated attention to the emotional dynamics of the public.

BARRY RICHARDS is Professor of Public Communication and Head of Research in the Media School at Bournemouth University, UK. He was formerly Professor and Head of the Department of Human Relations at the University of East London. He has written extensively on psychosocial dimensions of politics and popular culture.