Brexit Anxiety: A Case Study in the Medicalization of Dissent

Dan Degerman

doi:10.1080/13698230.2018.1438334

Brexit Anxiety: A Case Study in the Medicalization of Dissent

Dan Degerman

Department of Philosophy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

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Abstract

This paper illustrates how concepts of mental disorder have been deployed to medicalize negative emotions and, thereby, weaken the political agency of some individuals. First, I theorise the link between political agency and emotions, arguing that effective political action entails the transformation of emotions into public issues. Using the British referendum on membership in the EU as a case study, I then examine how medically loaded terms and rhetoric were used to describe suffering after the vote. Finally, I argue that this generated conditions that interrupted or even reversed the transformation of subjective experiences into politically meaningful issues.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	823-840
Number of pages	19
Journal	Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy
Volume	22
Issue number	7
Early online date	15 Feb 2018
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2018.1438334
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 15 Feb 2018

Bibliographical note

The acceptance date for this record is provisional and based upon the month of publication for the article.

Keywords

Arendt
political emotions
political agency
EU referendum
Brexit

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10.1080/13698230.2018.1438334

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