Cas Wouters
Who
Dutch sociologist. Student of Norbert Elias.
Core Idea
"Informalization" — in the 20th century, emotional norms loosened significantly in Western societies. What was previously regulated became acceptable. But informalization does not mean freedom — it means more complex, self-regulated emotional management.
Key Works
- Informalization: Manners and Emotions Since 1890 (2007)
- Sex and Manners (2004)
Relevance
The paradox of authenticity in brand communications — the demand that organizations be "authentic" and "informal" is not liberation from emotional management but a more sophisticated form of it. Audiences that have been through informalization are harder to read as genuine, not easier, because they are calibrated to detect performed informality. Highly applicable to how civil society organizations in MENA navigate between the emotional register expected by Western donors and the register trusted by local audiences.
Connected To
- Norbert Elias — direct intellectual lineage; informalization is Wouters' extension of Elias's civilizing process into the 20th century
- Eva Illouz — the authenticity paradox (Wouters) is what emotional capitalism (Illouz) exploits and sells back
- Arlie Hochschild — informalization demands more complex emotional self-management, which is the advanced form of Hochschild's emotional labor
