Grudge: the emotional side of resentment

Abstract

Due to the rise of radical right-wing movements and the political flourishing of conspiracy myths, sociology in recent years has increasingly focused on the functioning of resentment. However, little attention has been paid to the fact that resentment is not only a specific attitude but is also accompanied by typical emotions. Grudge, or rancour, as it is also called in English, are these emotional sides of resentment and form the affective ground of resentful attitudes. In this article, grudge will be explained in its phenomenological characteristics, its emotional structure, its historical change, in its psychoanalytical dimensions and sociological explanations and, finally, in its current social and political significance.