Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
If you’ve been struck by how digital outrage and cultural signaling on both the left and right feel prevalent and yet simultaneously fleeting and without the backing of stable parties, there’s a term for it: hyperpolitics.
Popularized by political historian Anton Jäger, hyperpolitics helps explain how public movements today surge and then vanish without changing any underlying sources of power. What’s missing are the parties, unions, and churches that once harnessed popular energy. Jäger is the author of "Hyperpolitics: Extreme Politicization Without Political Consequences." A lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford, he sat down with FP’s Ravi Agrawal to examine the paradox of politics in major democracies.
See more at at ForeignPolicy.com: foreignpolicy.com/live/anton-jager-hyperpolitics-paradox-of-political-outrage
And Read Anton's essay from our summer print issue: foreignpolicy.com/2026/06/15/party-democracy-political-system-participation-membership-leaders-elections-voting/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=cGFydHktZGVtb2NyYWN5LXBvbGl0aWNhbC1zeXN0ZW0tcGFydGljaXBhdGlvbi1tZW1iZXJzaGlwLWxlYWRlcnMtZWxlY3Rpb25zLXZvdGluZw==&pid=PNIrOQcvQsxdzb1
0:00 Intro
2:05 Defining hyperpolitics
10:51 Key examples
19:01 Solutions for the left
25:04: Hyperpolitics beyond the West?
31:08 Lessons from 1989
34:41 Democratic socialism in the U.S.
39:15 Moving towards civility
On the go? Listen to FP Live as a podcast at link.chtbl.com/foreignpolicylivepodcast or wherever you get your podcasts.
FP Live is Foreign Policy's forum for live journalism that brings leading foreign-policy experts and thinkers together to analyze the world's biggest events. Visit foreignpolicy.com/live for the full conversation and more live journalism from Foreign Policy.
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If you’ve been struck by how digital outrage and cultural signaling on both the left and right feel prevalent and yet simultaneously fleeting and without the backing of stable parties, there’s a term for it: hyperpolitics.
Popularized by political historian Anton Jäger, hyperpolitics helps explain how public movements today surge and then vanish without changing any underlying sources of power. What’s missing are the parties, unions, and churches that once harnessed popular energy. Jäger is the author of "Hyperpolitics: Extreme Politicization Without Political Consequences." A lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford, he sat down with FP’s Ravi Agrawal to examine the paradox of politics in major democracies.
See more at at ForeignPolicy.com: foreignpolicy.com/live/anton-jager-hyperpolitics-paradox-of-political-outrage
And Read Anton's essay from our summer print issue: foreignpolicy.com/2026/06/15/party-democracy-political-system-participation-membership-leaders-elections-voting/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=cGFydHktZGVtb2NyYWN5LXBvbGl0aWNhbC1zeXN0ZW0tcGFydGljaXBhdGlvbi1tZW1iZXJzaGlwLWxlYWRlcnMtZWxlY3Rpb25zLXZvdGluZw==&pid=PNIrOQcvQsxdzb1
0:00 Intro
2:05 Defining hyperpolitics
10:51 Key examples
19:01 Solutions for the left
25:04: Hyperpolitics beyond the West?
31:08 Lessons from 1989
34:41 Democratic socialism in the U.S.
39:15 Moving towards civility
On the go? Listen to FP Live as a podcast at link.chtbl.com/foreignpolicylivepodcast or wherever you get your podcasts.
FP Live is Foreign Policy's forum for live journalism that brings leading foreign-policy experts and thinkers together to analyze the world's biggest events. Visit foreignpolicy.com/live for the full conversation and more live journalism from Foreign Policy.
Subscribe to Foreign Policy's Youtube Channel: youtube.com/channel/UC1x_EgZtYkAzVavuONBrLZQ?sub_confirmation=1
Visit foreignpolicy.com to read the latest global news and analysis from FP.
Follow Foreign Policy:
X - twitter.com/ForeignPolicy
Instagram - instagram.com/foreignpolicymag
Facebook - facebook.com/foreign.policy.magazine
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/foreign-policy-magazine
TikTok - tiktok.com/@foreignpolicymagazine
