The book The Sentimental Citizen, published in 2002 by the U.S. political scientist George E. Marcus, examines the role of emotion in citizenship, political participation and democracy. The book formulates a core critique of the widespread assumption, both in democratic theory but also among the general public, that emotions stand in an antagonistic relationship to reason or the rational subject and are thus detrimental to the success of democratic processes. Marcus aims in his book to facilitate a fundamental rethinking and rehabilitation of the role of emotions in such a way as to achieve their productive and indispensable importance for political (and democratic) action. In doing so, he draws predominantly on the latest findings in neuropsychology, which he brings into conversation with political science issues in U.S. democracy research.