Policy & Politics Journal Blog

by Johanna Kuhlmann and Peter Starke

In their recent article published in Policy & Politics, Johanna Kuhlmann and Peter Starke demonstrate how a focus on emotions helps us to better understand important policy dynamics. Specifically, they examine how anger shaped public responses to the French pension reform of 2019–20. While welfare state reforms are usually explained by institutional or materialist theories, the authors turn to appraisal theory of emotion to explore how the reform process—and the interaction between government, trade unions and citizens—generated one of the largest protest movements in recent French history.

Rather than seeing emotions as irrational or secondary to interests, appraisal theory treats anger as a logical and meaningful response to particular conditions: namely, when individuals perceive blocked goals, blame, unfairness, and a sense of control or ability to achieve the desired outcome. Kuhlmann and Starke use this framework to trace how the proposed pension reform triggered each of these conditions among French citizens and interest groups—especially trade unions—escalating from discontent to widespread mobilisation.

Through process tracing and document analysis, the article shows how the French government’s reform package—framed as a drive for fairness and simplicity—came to be seen instead as socially regressive. Even moderates like the CFDT trade union turned against the reform when it appeared to threaten retirement rights. The perception that government consultation was insincere (blame), that future pensions would be cut (goal blocking), and that the system would become more—not less—unfair, fuelled both individual and collective anger. Importantly, the protesters also believed they could influence the outcome, drawing on a long French history of successful opposition to pension reform. This sense of control, the authors argue, helped sustain the intensity and duration of the protests.

Anger also had behavioural consequences. Far from being paralysing, it mobilised actors—through mass strikes, demonstrations, and even disruptive action. In some cases, these pressures led to concessions from the government, including delaying or removing contested elements of the reform. But the broader emotional climate endured: by the time parts of the reform were finally passed in 2023, large-scale protests had returned, and public anger remained high.

Kuhlmann and Starke conclude that emotions, and anger in particular, are not just important add-ons to established policy theories. They can help explain how and why reforms fail—especially in contexts where rational-material accounts fall short. The article offers both a conceptual innovation and a call for greater attention to emotion in policy studies more generally. In cases like France, they argue, understanding emotional dynamics is key to understanding political resistance.

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You can read the original research in Policy & Politics at

Kuhlmann, J., and Starke, P. (2025). The politics of anger: emotional appraisal mechanisms and the French pension reform protests. Policy & Politics 53, 1, 152-177, available from: < https://doi.org/10.1332/03055736Y2024D000000027>

If you enjoyed this blog post, you may also be interested in reading

Hornung, J., and Bandelow, N. C. (2025). Social identities, emotions and policy preferences. Policy & Politics 53, 1, 178-199, available from: < https://doi.org/10.1332/03055736Y2024D000000036>

Kilty, J. M., and Orsini, M. (2024). Emotions and anti-carceral advocacy in Canada: ‘All of the anger this creates in our bodies is also a tool to kill us’. Policy & Politics 52, 2, 219-238, available from: < https://doi.org/10.1332/03055736Y2023D000000024>