Rational anger: An international comparison of legal systems and emotional cultures

U-TurnS Event

Presenter: Stina Bergman Blix, Professor of Sociology, Uppsala University

Discussant: Alexia Katsiginis, PhD candidate, Sciences Po Law School 

Anger brings people to court and is essential in evaluating wrongdoing and attributing blame, but at the same time anger is seen as a threat to well-reasoned and just decision-making. This talk will demonstrate how anger is entangled with legal thought and comes into play in legal practices. I will present the new book Rational anger, which explores the rationales behind legal anger, its logic and origins, drawing on the perspectives of judges and prosecutors in Italy, Sweden, the USA, and Scotland. When do judges and prosecutors become angry in court, what do they become angry about, and which other emotions open up for anger? By comparing the workings and displays of anger found in different legal systems and emotional cultures, we can elucidate assumptions about law, morality, truth, and emotions that we commonly take for granted.

Stina Bergman Blix is Professor of Sociology at Uppsala University. Her theoretical interest includes rationality, social interaction, decision-making, emotional cultures, and professionalization processes. She currently leads an international comparative project (JUSTEMOTIONS) funded by the European Research Council, investigating the emotive-cognitive process of judicial decision-making. She co-authored Professional Emotions in Court: A Sociological Perspective (Routledge, 2018) and Rational Anger: An international comparison of legal systems (Routledge, 2025).

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