The Sad Citizen: How Politics Is Depressing and Why It Matters

About the Book

For many citizens, politics is depressing. How has this come to be the norm? And, how is it influencing democracy?

From rising polarization to climate change, today's politics are leaving many Western democracies in the throes of malaise. While anger, anxiety, and fear are loud emotions that powerfully activate voters, depression is quiet, demobilizing, and less visible as a result. Yet its pervasiveness is cause for concern: after all, democracy should empower citizens.

In The Sad Citizen, Christopher Ojeda draws on wide-ranging data from the United States and beyond to explain how politics is depressing, why this matters, and what we can do about it. Integrating insights from political science, sociology, psychology, and other fields, The Sad Citizen exposes the unhappy underbelly of contemporary politics and offers fresh ideas to strengthen democracy and help citizens cope with the stress of politics.

Table of Contents:
List of Tables and Figures

Chapter 1: A Sinking Feeling
Chapter 2: When Politics Produces Loss
Chapter 3: When Loss Becomes Depressing
Chapter 4: When Depression Leads to Withdrawal
Chapter 5: Election Blues
Chapter 6: The Polarization of Private Life
Chapter 7: The Pain of Public Policy
Chapter 8: Democracy without Disruption

Acknowledgments
Appendix
Notes
References
Index

About the Author :
Christopher Ojeda is assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Merced, and a research affiliate at the University of California’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. His research has been featured by CNN, NPR, PBS, Slate, and Vox.

Review :
"Christopher Ojeda has written an impressive and rigorous study, using data to confirm empathically a widespread intuition: that people in many Western democracies are sad citizens. Sobering, important—and, it’s to be hoped, an invitation to a new conversation about restoring hope through participation." “Sad Citizen is a substantial contribution that examines the connections between politics and feelings of depression. With the growing attention to the role of emotions in politics over the past few decades, Ojeda fills a serious void in the field by offering an in-depth consideration of sadness and its place in the political world.” "Politics is not just about competition, Ojeda argues, but also about loss: election losses, losses of benefits or rights, losses of our efforts and resources when political activism fails. And these losses can be depressing. Ojeda’s landmark book shows why politics leaves citizens disappointed, sad, even grieving, and why it matters—for mobilization, political participation, political inequality, and policy outputs. A stunningly provocative and original new take on the causes and consequences of citizen engagement." “Much of what people do depends on how they feel. This is as true in politics as in any other domain of life. Yet, social scientists have had little to say about the relationship between psychological well-being and political decisions. Ojeda fills this gap with a stunning book that authoritatively shows the connection between political health and mental health. The Sad Citizen sets an agenda for a new and crucially important area of inquiry.”