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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Thanks Ryan! Here's a bit of an introduction/explainer for the piece: bsky.app/profile/pjoo...

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

And I should thank @mclaughlinsoc.bsky.social - comments from him early on were helpful when wrestling with the R&R.

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

And if you want to see a presentation of the paper, here's a talk I gave at the Australian Sociological Associaion @austsocfishbiol.bsky.social : youtu.be/TJDHYue9FI0?...

youtu.be

TASA Social Theory Webinar Series Theory in Troubled Times

YouTube video by TASA (The Australian Sociological Association)

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

“Defying political gravity” is an idiomatic expression for the putatively “miraculous” nature of charismatic ascent. It is in essence 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 levitation. Ascriptions like this encourage mass acceptance of an extraordinary (read: charismatic) status for a person /11

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Donald Trump’s rise is my main case. He went from someone who was seen as a “comic-book candidate” and “carnival barker” to someone who was ultimately credited, even by his enemies, as being able to “defy political gravity.” /10

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Answer: By way of these incredulous elites, whose very resistance becomes the mechanism through which charismatic rupture is signalled to followers. The pains associated with institutional fissure can be read on their faces, and this is inspires followers in its own right /9

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

It also addresses what I call the “expansion problem” in charisma research: How can the microdynamics of leader-love ever be anything other than a superficial factor in historical process? How is "charisma" not a recapitulation of discredited "great man" theories of history? /8

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

This helps resolve what I call the “miracle problem” in Weberian theories of charisma. Rather than metaphysical happenings, “miracles” are socially produced when influential people repeatedly declare something impossible—only to be forced to watch that very thing happen /7

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Second, as mouthpieces for institutions, incredulous onlookers give the charismatic challenger access to vastly larger audiences than followers alone ever could from within the closed interactional sphere delineated by leader-follower relationships /6

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Incredulous onlookers amplify charisma in two ways. First, their shock, moral outrage, and exasperation make the early successes of the charismatic challenger (even if minor) look miraculous (i.e. "He can't be serious!" "This can't be happening!") /5

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

To address this, I draw attention to the role of "incredulous onlookers." These are institutional elites who sit at the interface between the charismatic community and wider society. They don’t believe. They’re appalled. And their attempts to stop the movement make it stronger /4

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

So while most charisma research focuses on the putatively extraordinary qualities of leaders, or on how followers actively work to enhance a leader’s status, such work misses charisma’s less agreeable side: How it can destabilize and overturn existing institutional structure /3

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Charisma is usually conceived of as an intimate "bond" between leaders and followers. Its world-historical significance, however, stems less from this inward-intimacy than from its aggressive, outward posture, which destabilizes surrounding social orders. /2

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Happy to share a thread on my new article out in American Journal of Sociology: “The Less Agreeable Side of Charisma: Donald Trump, Incredulous Onlooking, and Anti-structural Power.” /1 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...

journals.uchicago.edu

University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Thrilled to announce this new paper at AJS!

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American Sociological Association @asanews.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Congratulations! The American Sociological Association is pleased to share that Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social (University of Hong Kong) has been named Co-Editor of Sociological Theory. @sociologicaltheory.bsky.social bit.ly/3QM8uya #ASA #sociology #journals

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American Sociological Association @asanews.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Congratulations! The American Sociological Association is pleased to share that Larissa Buchholz (Northwestern University) has been named Co-Editor of Sociological Theory. @sociologicaltheory.bsky.social bit.ly/4eQQOus #ASA #sociology #journals

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American Sociological Association @asanews.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Congratulations! The American Sociological Association is pleased to share that Bin Xu @binxu013.bsky.social (Emory University) has been named Co-Editor of Sociological Theory. @sociologicaltheory.bsky.social bit.ly/44hjaYC #ASA #sociology #journals

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Maurice Halbwachs' book On collective memory is pretty good. And Karl Mannheim has a good essay called the Problem of Generations.

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Excited to speak at the TASA Social Theory Webinar Series tomorrow with the title, "Donald Trump and the Less Agreeable Side of Charisma." It's a free zoom session, and you can register here: share.google/9G8ihCoRGEus...

share.google

TASA Social Theory Webinar Series: Theory in Troubled Times - Events - The Australian Sociological Association

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Great new paper on charisma and the transformation of entrepreneuria authority in Silicon Valley capitalism!

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

I don't know enough about that. But I guess it's true that long before writing we had these mnemonic devices.

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

And it's a song about memory!

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

It could still be psychological, but just a case of active forgetting

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Yeah, I think that stuff is great. The physics metaphor that seems to capture it more (for me - actual physicists may laugh) is black holes. Consumptive, ineluctable, and destructive of all structure, and revolving around a singularity - in this case an individual

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Like, there could be an anti-matter planet out there, with anti-matter people walking anti-matter dogs and running anti-matter bureaucracies

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Paul Joosse @pjoosse.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

As far as I understand, anti-matter behaves just like matter, just in a reversed-world way - it obeys "rules" in the same way that matter does. So if my hunch about what you are after here is correct, this is perhaps a difficulty with the analogy.

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International Sociological Association (ISA) @isa-sociology.org · 03/09/2025

📸 Romulo Lelis and Paul Joosse

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International Sociological Association (ISA) @isa-sociology.org · 23/08/2025

We are happy to announce the 2025 International Sociological Association's RC16 Junior Theorist Award! This year the RC16 Junior Theorist Award goes to Romulo Lelis (Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning), for his paper:

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Lauren Valentino @sociologylauren.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Along with @mlamont.bsky.social @pjoosse.bsky.social, I am on the Distinguished Career Award committee for the ASA Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity section. Please send nominations our way! Due March 5. More information here: www.asanet.org/communities-...

Distinguished Career Award
Deadline: March 5, 2025
Contact: Michèle Lamont, Chair

The Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity Section of the ASA is seeking nominations for the 2025 Distinguished Career Award. This award is given annually to a researcher who has made a number of significant contributions to the study of altruism, morality, and/or social solidarity over an extended period of time. It is intended to recognize a senior scholar’s cumulative achievements. Nominations should include a brief description of the career contributions that make the candidate deserving of the award. Self-nominations are welcome. Please also see previous winners of the award for reference here.

Please send nominations, with the subject line AMSS 2025 Distinguished Career Award Nomination, by March 5, 2025 to the Committee Members:

Michèle Lamont: mlamont@wjh.harvard.edu
Lauren Valentino: lauren.valentino@unc.edu
Paul Joosse: pjoosse@hku.hk

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