Research
Research interests
- Populism
- Radical right and radical left
- Political emotions
- Political narratives
- Visual politics
Current research
Dr Bonansinga's research takes an interdisciplinary perspective on populism, examining the phenomenon from the lenses of political science, international relations and political psychology. She specialises in populist communication and the emotional and psychological mechanisms linked to populist support. She has guest-edited four special issues on populism and emotions for Innovation and American Behavioral Scientist.
Her recent work has explored the role of anger, fear, pride and hope in populist communication; narratives of crisis and insecurity in the populist right vs. left; populist visual communication on Instagram and TikTok; the mainstreaming of the radical right; and the populist securitisation of migration.