Affective Doubt and Antagonistic Politics

This chapter examines the underexplored role of affective doubt in contemporary political polarisation and marginalisation. We distinguish between two forms of affective doubt: doubting feelings and feeling doubtful. The first involves questioning the appropriateness or authenticity of emotional responses, while the second refers to doubt itself as an embodied feeling of tension and uncertainty. We analyse how affective doubt operates antagonistically across structural, interpersonal and intrapersonal levels, contributing to polarisation through phenomena such as emotion policing and gaslighting. Drawing on cases from Black Lives Matter protests to experiences of internalised homophobia, we demonstrate how doubt can be weaponised to silence marginalised voices and undermine political agency. However, we conclude by noting doubt’s potential for critical resistance and emancipatory politics, suggesting that affective doubt, while often oppressive, may also foster critical awareness of our emotional situatedness.