NOSTALGIA

Nostalgia has its roots in the Greek words “nostos” (i.e., return home) and “algia” (i.e., painful condition) and it was considered as “homesickness,” a feeling of desire to be in one’s homeland. Nowadays, nostalgia can be defined as a sentimental affection for the past, and this brings sadness caused by the aspects of missing something. As an ambivalent feeling, it is a mixed emotion, both bitter and sweet, even if it is more positive than negative. Cognitive psychologists observed that it involves specific brain regions associated with self-reflection, autobiographical memory, emotion regulation, and reward.

As mentioned before, nostalgia can be positive or negative. On the positive side, it enhances psychological well-being, increases authenticity, heightens the accessibility of the intrinsic self-concept, generates more inspiration, and aids in goal pursuit. It is also perceived as similar to self-compassion, pride, and gratitude, while
dissimilar to shame, guilt, and embarrassment. Nostalgia regulates coping with loneliness and social exclusion. On the other hand, it can cause psychological discomforts, such as pessimism, neuroticism, and boredom. It can lead a person to imagine how things could have turned out better (upward counterfactuals) or worse (downward counterfactuals). Besides emotions, it also has a social role, as it increases social-efficacy and the goal of being with others. It also has a political view and when we consider political nostalgia, it can be analyzed by individual and collective perspectives. Individually, nostalgia reduces generalized anti-immigrant sentiment, and those people are more concerned about acting prejudicially. Collectively, nostalgia can benefit an ingroup, as seen in populism, creating a sense of belonging and acceptance, but it also leads to outgroup rejection and exclusion.

Nostalgia is used by populists leaders and this happens because they want to break the status quo and return to what it was before, to the lost home. Populism often focuses on derogating and showing prejudice against other groups, devising the ‘us’ versus ‘them’. To this extent, collective nostalgia pertains to a national group positively associated with opposition to immigrants across cultures

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