In the context of the rise of right-wing populism, new debates on democratic education have emerged which focus on the role of affect. The paper puts forth a postfoundational perspective on affects and emotion, proposing an analysis of how democratic education practices mobilize certain feelings. In the empirical analysis of argumentation trainings in the context of higher education, it is demonstrated that the observed practices have ambivalent effects. On the one hand, participants demonstrate motivation and commitment to argue for their own positions and to passionately oppose populist positions in public discourse. Conversely, this motivation operates, at least in part, through a process of 'othering,' which transforms individuals with right-wing populist worldviews, at least in part, into obstinate individuals in need of moralization.