Hotspots: The affective politics of hope and the "Corbyn phenomenon".

Jeremy Corbyn MP was elected as leader of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom on 12 September 2015, in a landslide victory. This paper explores the affective nature of the "Corbyn phenomenon" and the myriad reasons behind its emergence. Through adopting a lens that is attentive to the affective dimension of politics, the paper highlights how affect, in its diverse forms, mobilises people into political action. The paper aims to expand affective political thought by developing a new conceptual dimension, that of "hotspots," as a way of considering the affective geographies of political movements. The main hypothesis is that "hotspots" – where political events take place – were integral to the production of affective atmospheres that fuelled the momentum of the Corbyn phenomenon. This argument is made in three parts. First, the paper explores how Corbyn triggered a "tipping point," whereby negative affects – such as anger, frustration and despair – which had accumulated during a post‐political era, erupted and crystallised in support for Corbyn. It then addresses the core contribution of this paper, the role of "hotspots" – where the affective atmospheres of the Corbyn phenomenon were produced, which were characterised by hope, optimism and excitement – in galvanising Corbyn support. It concludes with a discussion of the figure of Jeremy Corbyn, himself, and alludes to how (1) his personality and (2) his politics moulded him into the symbolic leader of the grassroots movement, which maintains a populist logic. The paper thus contributes to ongoing discussions about the role of affect in politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]