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Paper short abstract

This paper examines the contemporary significance of the honour/shame dyad within the discourses, bodily performances, and leadership styles of two prominent figures of the anti-feminist far right in Spain: Santiago Abascal (Vox) and Alvise Pérez (Se Acabó la Fiesta).

Paper long abstract

This paper examines the contemporary significance of the honour/shame dyad within the discourses, bodily performances, and leadership styles of two prominent figures of the anti-feminist far right in Spain: Santiago Abascal (Vox) —currently the third-largest political force in Spain by vote count— and Alvise Pérez (Se Acabó la Fiesta). While the "anthropology of the Mediterranean" traditionally framed honour and shame as moral regulators of kinship and local reputation, this proposal argues that these concepts are undergoing a powerful political revitalisation in the context of modern populism.

Drawing on previous research on the connections between nationalism and masculinity, I explore how this often-implicit relationship is being rendered visible through the rise of ultra-nationalist, masculinist and antifeminist politics close to the manosphere. These movements are spearheaded by leaderships rooted in a "traditional masculinity" that appeals directly to the protection and defence of national values against perceived threats. Such phenomena are difficult to comprehend without accounting for the affects they mobilise and the material bodies that embody them.

Through an analysis of Abascal and Alvise Pérez, I propose that honour serves as a core performative element that transcends individual performance. By examining discursive, material and affective dimensions, I argue that honour and shame aggregate networks of meaning that resonate deeply within the fields of gender and national sovereignty. Ultimately, the leader’s body becomes a site where abstract national honour is made tangible, transforming private moral codes into a collective, public affect that sustains the current far-right surge in Spain.