In the opening episode of Review of Democracy’s new podcast series on EU-funded research, Alexandra Kardos speaks with Professor Zsolt Boda, Director of the ELTE Centre for Social Sciences, about the MORES Moral Emotions in Politics project, a Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action exploring how emotions shape democratic life.
The conversation delves into the project’s central ideas of moral emotions and moralized political identities, the dangers of both emotional detachment and over-emotionalization in politics, and how these dynamics influence trust, polarization, and civic engagement. Professor Boda also discusses MORES’ innovative tools – including MORES Pulse AI – designed to help policymakers, journalists, and citizens navigate the emotional undercurrents of contemporary democracy by assessing the moral-emotional tone of their own or others’ communication.
Zsolt Boda is Director of the ELTE Centre for Social Sciences in Budapest and a Research Professor at the Institute for Political Science. His research focuses on governance and policy studies, populism, trust, and emotions in politics. He previously coordinated the Horizon 2020 project DEMOS – Democratic Efficacy and the Varieties of Populism in Europe and co-edited Policy Agendas in Autocracies and Hybrid Regimes: The Case of Hungary (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021). The ELTE Centre for Social Sciences is the coordinating institution of the MORES – Moral Emotions in Politics project.
The interview was conducted by Alexandra Kardos. Lilit Hakobyan edited the audio file.
