Selected Online Reading on Populism in Europe

This book proposes a unified approach to populism that sees it as a primarily rhetorical concept. Populism is on the rise worldwide with both populist leaders and movements gaining power, and the term "populism" resounds in political debate, journalism, and scholarship. Populism as a phenomenon seems to instantiate perennial issues besetting rhetoric (e.g., the charges of manipulation, exclusive reliance on opinion over knowledge, and abuse of emotional appeals), yet relatively little research on populism has emerged from the discipline of rhetoric. This volume investigates the theory and practice of populism under the heading of rhetoric but as an interdisciplinary effort involving scholars in rhetoric as well as neighbouring disciplines such as political science and sociology. Seven case studies covering Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, UK, USA, and Venezuela offer conceptual discussions as well as close analyses applying both historical and theoretical approaches.

This edited book provides a first overview of how populist parties responded to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in Europe. Although populism would normally benefit from crisis situations (e.g., political representation or economic crises), the peculiar nature of this health crisis does not make the benefit obvious. For it to be exploited, a crisis must be politicized. While populists have tried to take advantage of the crisis situation, the impossibility of taking ownership of the COVID-19 issue has made the crisis hard to be exploited. In particular, populists in power have tried to depoliticize the pandemic, whereas radical right-populists in opposition tried to politicize the crisis, though failing to gain the relevant public support. This book considers populist parties in eight European democracies, providing a framework of analysis for their responses to the COVID-19 crisis. It does so by engaging with the literature on crisis and populism from a theoretical perspective and through the lens of the politicization process.

Ist der Populismus die "Ideologie der Demokratie" (Margaret Canovan) schlechthin, eine Bedrohung, die einen "moralischen Alleinvertretungsanspruch" (Jan-Werner Muller) erhebt, oder doch eine "Reihe von diskursiven Ressourcen, die ganz unterschiedlich eingesetzt werden konnen" (Ernesto Laclau)? Dieses Buch bringt als erster Sammelband im deutschsprachigen Raum diskursive Populismusansatze im breiten Sinne zusammen. Die hier versammelten Populismusforscher_innen arbeiten konzeptuell fundierte sowie empirisch nuancierte Analysen populistischer Diskurse in verschiedenen Staats-, Offentlichkeits- sowie Parteien- und Bewegungskontexten heraus. Vertreten sind unterschiedliche politik- und diskurstheoretische Positionen, die zur prazisen Untersuchung demokratischer und autoritarer Einsatze des Populismus dienlich sind, und in Form ausgewahlter Landerstudien vorgestellt werden.

Advocating a style of law and a role for legal agency which returns to its essential humanist ideology and represents public spiritedness, this unique book confronts the myths surrounding globalisation, advancing the role for law as a change agent unburdened from its current market functionality. Mark Findlay argues that law has a new and urgent relevance to confront the absence of resilience in self-determined market places, and to make coherent the anarchic forces which are running, and ruining the world. The inevitability of law's re-invention during global crises is considered, offering a critical evaluation of the future of legal agency, service delivery and access to justice. Chapters also engage with citizen-centric surveillance society to examine the dangers to personal data, individual integrity, and work-life quality from unregulated mass data sharing. Exciting and thought-provoking, this book will be critical reading for scholars and students in law, economics and governance interested in globalisation and crises, such as pandemics, as well as populist politics and anxiety governance.

This innovative Handbook presents the core concepts associated with austerity, retrenchment and populism and explores how they can be used to analyse developments in different welfare states and in specific social policies. Leading experts highlight how these concepts have influenced and changed welfare states around the globe and impacted specific areas including pensions, long-term care, the labour market, taxation, social activism and gender equality. Comprehensive in approach, the authors offer cutting edge research demonstrating the importance of societal developments to welfare states and the effects of ideas, ideologies and variations in policies and decisions in different countries. They also investigate key country and regime-specific approaches to welfare state development, analysing and interpreting changes in the last 10-15 years. The main drivers for these changes, ranging from demography, to the financial crisis, to the use of new technology and the possible impact of populism, are examined. Far reaching and authoritative, this timely Handbook offers a systematic theoretic overview which will be invaluable for scholars of welfare states, social policy, sociology and political science. Social policy makers will also benefit from the novel case studies explored in depth, and suggestions for potential policy changes.

This timely book offers an in-depth analysis of the intersection between populism and corruption, addressing phenomena that have been, so far, largely treated separately. Bringing together two dynamic and well-established fields of study, it proposes a theoretical framework for the study of populism and corruption in order to update our understanding of specific forms of each in a variety of socio-political settings. International contributors consider the simultaneous growth of populist rhetoric and political corruption, suggesting systematic methods for analysing the interconnection between them. Chapters further examine the effects of socio-political and historical contexts, outlining histories of political scandals and anti-corruption crusades. Taking a cross-national perspective, the book provides case study analyses of the corruption-populism intersection under diverse political systems including Brazil, France, Israel, Mexico and the USA. Raising critical questions for future research into the connections between the fields, Populism and Corruption offers crucial insights for scholars, researchers and students of political science, sociology and law, particularly those interested in contemporary populist movements. It will also benefit practitioners hoping to act on recent trends in political organizing and policymakers eager to combat political corruption.

This edited book aims to contribute to the political science scholarship on populism by focusing on the contemporary manifestations of populism in light of the current context. Populism has gone global, with populist parties gaining considerable ground, particularly in the last decade: populists are now in government in almost every part of the globe. In so doing, this book not only takes stock of the previous work on populism, but also builds upon it to further deepen our understanding of the phenomenon and take research forward. The authors explore different facets of the most recent manifestations of populism, trying to engage in new avenues as suggested by recent and authoritative academic work. The approach is comparative and multi-dimensional, with a cross-regional focus on Western Europe and the USA. The 12 contributions gathered in this book address a wide spectrum of aspects, many of which are largely understudied.

Immigration has become one of the central issues dominating the agenda of political parties, and has also played a crucial role in the rise of right-wing populism in Western Europe. This book explores the role of conservative parties in immigration policy change. The following questions are addressed: What explains the introduction of restrictive immigration policies across a number of European states? Why do conservative parties choose to toughen their immigration policy stances? How can we explain the variation in the factors that affect conservative parties' immigration policy-making logics? What mechanisms account for the dynamics of immigration policy change or policy deadlock? Based on interviews with political elites and policy makers in the UK, Switzerland and France, the book explains why governmental conservative parties in these countries revised their immigration policy stances and steered immigration policy in a more restrictive direction between 2002 and 2015.

Der Band analysiert auf theoretischer Ebene rassistische und rechtspopulistische Diskurse im Kontext von Medien, Migration und Mobilität, um deren Umsetzung in politische Strategien und Praxen mittels empirischer Untersuchungen zu re- und dekonstruieren und schließlich zu diskutieren, ob und - wenn ja - wie in einer kritischen Bildungsarbeit diesen Diskursen und Praxen begegnet werden kann und muss. Dabei werden nicht nur Methoden der Bildungsarbeit, sondern auch deren Anwendungen in Arbeitsfeldern wie Schule, Hochschule und der Sozialen Arbeit thematisiert.

This edited volume offers new insights into the populist wave that is affecting democratic politics in a large number of countries. The authoritarian populist turn that has developed in the US and various European countries in recent years both reflects and exacerbates the polarization of public opinion that increasingly characterizes democratic politics. The book seeks to explain how and why authoritarian populist opinion has developed and been mobilised in democratic countries. It also explores the implications of this growth in authoritarian, anti-immigrant sentiment for the operation of democratic politics in the future. It concludes that liberals may need to abandon their big-hearted internationalist instinct for open and unmanaged national borders and tacit indifference to illegal immigration. They should instead fashion a distinctively liberal position on immigration based on the socially progressive traditions of planning, public services, community cohesion and worker protection against exploitation. To do otherwise would be to provide the forces of illiberal authoritarianism with an opportunity to advance unparalleled since the 1930s and to destroy the extraordinary post-war achievements of the liberal democratic order.

Populist forces are becoming increasingly relevant across the world, and studies on populism have entered the mainstream of the political science discipline. However, so far no book has synthesized the ongoing debate on how to study the populist phenomenon. This handbook provides state of the art research and scholarship on populism, and lays out, not only the cumulated knowledge on populism, but also the ongoing discussions and research gaps on this topic. The Oxford Handbook of Populism is divided into four sections. The first presents the main conceptual approaches on populism and points out how the phenomenon in question can be empirically analyzed. The second focuses on populist forces across the world and includes chapters on Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, India, Latin America, the Post-Soviet States, the United States, and Western Europe. The third reflects on the interaction between populism and various relevant issues both from a scholarly and political point of view. Amongst other issues, chapters analyze the relationship between populism and fascism, foreign policy, gender, nationalism, political parties, religion, social movements and technocracy. Finally, the fourth part includes some of the most recent normative debates on populism, including chapters on populism and cosmopolitanism, constitutionalism, hegemony, the history of popular sovereignty, the idea of the people, and socialism. The handbook features contributions from leading experts in the field, and is indispensible, positioning the study of populism in political science.

This timely book presents a critique of binary majority rule and provides insights into why, in many instances, the outcome of a two-option ballot does not accurately reflect the will of the people. Based on the author's first-hand experience, majority-voting is argued to be a catalyst of populism and its divisive outcomes have prompted countless disputes throughout Europe and Asia. In like manner, simple majority rule is seen as a cause of conflict in war zones, and of dysfunction in so-called stable democracies. In order to safeguard democracy, an all-party power-sharing approach is proposed, which would make populism less attractive to voters and governments alike. In geographically arranged chapters, well-tested alternative voting procedures (e. g. non-majoritarian Modified Borda Count) are presented in case studies of Northern Ireland, Central Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Russia, China, North Korea and Mongolia.  

This book evaluates climate change and populism, two ideas that do not generally go together. The author argues that perhaps they should if policymakers are to be galvanized into action before it is too late. Although populism is usually associated with right-wing authoritarianism, there is growing interest in more progressive forms of populist politics. Across the world, young people in particular are mobilizing to demand change from an older generation that appears to be incapable of action or is hostage to powerful vested interests and outdated ideas. In this book, the author explains why populist forms of political action may yet provide the key to effective policies, which are often discussed but less frequently implemented. Accessible and trenchantly argued, this book presents a primer for the politics of survival.

This edited volume revolves around two sets of questions. First, what do the 2019 European elections suggest about the extent to which the mainstream parties of the left are attempting to deal with their decline through an increased, common, emphasis on their project for a more integrated, 'social Europe' as opposed to an emphasis on the more 'traditional', domestically-focussed, issues? Given the heightened profile of Europe in domestic politics; given the polarisation around Europe; given the way in which (especially in the countries of the Eurozone) media discussion of the domestic implications of EU decision-making can influence the climate of opinion regardless of the actions of domestic party actors themselves, we would expect the social democrats among them to seek to reassert control over the conditions of opinion formation through a renewed emphasis on integration (as well as its benefits and its potential as a source of identities to rival national, exclusionary identities) in opposition to their populist and Eurosceptical adversaries. To what extent do the campaigns waged by these parties bear out this expectation? Second, how well are the parties coping with the internal and external, institutional and political obstacles in the way of pursuit of this agenda?

This book tackles questions related to democracy, populism and truth, with results that are sure to inform pressing academic and popular debates. It is common to describe many of today's most energizing politicians and political movements as populist. Some are progressive advocates of greater economic democracy or individual rights, while others are recognizably authoritarian and anti-democratic, even while claiming to defend democracy. What all populist leaders share in common is a rhetorical approach: their ability to articulate, or at least profess to channel, the wishes of 'the people', a group that populist leaders claim a unique ability to understand and govern, especially with regard to their dissatisfaction with ruling elites. They decry corruption (although not necessarily with any sincerity), and they sometimes identify more mainstream politicians and bureaucrats as 'enemies of the people.' The rise of populist politics raises pressing questions about the nature of populism, but also about relationships between populism and democratic institutions. For example, is populism ever a democratic tendency, or does its invocation of a monolithic demos ('the people') signify a fundamentally anti-democratic worldview? Populist political rhetoric also raises concerns about the relationship between truth, democracy, and journalistic integrity. While the history of anti-democratic advocacy (famously illustrated by Plato) has often highlighted the tendency of a democratic style of politics to prioritize popularity over truth, the development of social media--and evolving norms of journalistic communication and public political discourse--raise these misgivings in new forms.

Europeans are being replaced by foreign invaders, aided by cultural Marxists who are plotting an Islamist subversion of the continent. The Bilderberg group - and/or the Illuminati - are instating a totalitarian New World Order. Angela Merkel is the secret daughter of Adolf Hitler, Barack Obama was illegitimate, and George W. Bush was in on the 9/11 attacks. Also, the Holocaust is a hoax, members of Pussy Riot are agents of the West, and the European Union is resurrecting the Roman Empire, this time as a communist super-state. These are some of the tales that are told by populist political actors across Europe, were raised during the Brexit debate in the UK, and have been promoted by presidents of both the US and Russia. Rapid rise of populist political parties around Europe and across the Atlantic in the early new millennium coincided with the simultaneous increased spread of conspiracy theories. This book entangles the two tropes and maps how right-wing populists apply conspiracy theories to advance their politics and support for their parties.  

This edited volume explores the relationship between constitutionalism and populism in the Italian context. Italian populism is of interest to comparative lawyers for many reasons. Firstly, the country has a long-lasting tradition of anti-parliamentarism over the course of its history as a unitary state. After the 2018 general election, it has turned into the first European country in which two self-styled populist parties formed a coalition government. Although it collapsed in August 2019, many issues that it had raised remain. Secondly, as Italy is a founding member of the European Communities, the constitutional implications of populist politics have to be considered not only within the national framework but also in a wider context. This book argues that the relationship between populism and constitutionalism should not be seen in terms of mutual exclusion and perfect opposition. Indeed, populism frequently relies on concepts and categories belonging to the language of constitutionalism (majority, democracy, people), offering a kind of constitutional counter-narrative.

Recent populist movements online and around the globe have drawn the attention of news media, social and political analysts, and scholars, all of whom seek to understand the patterns of influence which have produced and are produced by this populist surge. Whether nationalist or revolutionary, ideological or geopolitical, these movements have changed the way we relate to one another as leaders and followers. In its various forms, populism is changing the face and geography of global politics and society. Leadership, Populism, and Resistance draws upon the study of history, politics, policy, media, virtue, and heroism to examine the ways in which populism and popular movements have evolved, what we have learned (and failed to learn) from them, how we depict and discuss them through popular media and the press, and, finally, how we can understand virtue and heroism as a consequence-or reaction-to populism and popularity.This volume uses a multidisciplinary approach to examine the causes and impacts of populism and popular movements across time and around the world which would appeal to a wide variety of scholars and practitioners. Its chapters provide potential teaching tools within individual disciplines (history, psychology, media studies, political science, literature, education, leadership studies) which are useful for educators at all levels concerned with social movements, populism and democracy. The interdisciplinary nature of the volume is also accessible to non-academic audiences interested in modern populist and popular socio-political trends.

The dramatic decline of democracy in East-Central Europe (ECE) has attracted worldwide attention, presenting a significant challenge to European models of liberal democracy. This timely book tackles the heart of this region's complexity, unpacking the socio-economic, political and cultural developments of the ECE countries. Attila Ágh demonstrates the key turning point in 2010, when the region's political trajectory shifted from chaotic democracy to authoritarian rule. Moving beyond the narrow spectrum of political 'event history' deployed by ECE parties and governments, the author offers a complex analysis of the changes to the region, exploring the deep, systemic causes of hard populism. Examining the fascinating relationship between ECE countries, Europe and the world, Ágh outlines the future of democracy in the region, exploring perspectives of re-democratization by the new generation raised under the auspices of EU democracy. Declining Democracy in East-Central Europe provides researchers in both political and European studies with a unique insight into the rapidly diverging pathways of European democracies. Ágh's detailed approach to the ECE region will also benefit experts in regional studies, moving beyond political narratives of individual countries and analysing the region as a whole.

This book provides a concise, critical analysis of the key themes, theories, and controversies in nationalism studies. It offers an historically informed and sophisticated overview of classical and contemporary approaches to nationalism, as well as setting out an agenda for future research on nationalism and the emotions. In so doing, the book illuminates nationalism's contemporary power and resilience, as manifested in the growth of far-right nationalist populism in Europe, the white ethno-nationalism of Trump in the United States, the resurgence of great power nationalism and rivalry in Asia, and the resilience of national secessionist movements in diverse parts of the planet. The widespread nationalistic responses to the coronavirus pandemic provide further confirmation of the continuing power of nationalism. All of these developments are discussed in the book, which will be an invaluable resource for nationalism scholars and students in Sociology, Politics and History.

The Handbook of Political Representation in Liberal Democracies offers a state-of-the-art assessment of the functioning of political representation in liberal democracies. In 34 chapters the world's leading scholars on the various aspects of political representation address eight broad themes: The concept and theories of political representation, its history and the main requisites for its development; elite orientations and behavior; descriptive representation; party government and representation; non-electoral forms of political participation and how they relate to political representation; the challenges to representative democracy originating from the growing importance of non-majoritarian institutions and social media; the rise of populism and its consequences for the functioning of representative democracy; the challenge caused by economic and political globlization: what does it mean for the functioning of political representation at the national level and is it possible to develop institutions of representative democracy at a level above the state that meet the normative criteria of representative democracy and are supported by the people? The various chapters offer a comprehensive review of the literature on the various aspects of political representation. The main organizing principle of the Handbook is the chain of political representation, the chain connecting the interests and policy preferences of the people to public policy via political parties, parliament, and government. Most of the chapters assessing the functioning of the chain of political representation and its various links are based on original comparative political research. Comparative research on political representation and its various subfields has developed dramatically over the last decades so that even ten years ago a Handbook like this would have looked totally different.

The victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 election left specialists of American politics perplexed and concerned about the future of US democracy. Because no populist leader had occupied the White House in 150 years, there were many questions about what to expect. Marshaling the long-standing expertise of leading specialists of populism elsewhere in the world, this book provides the first systematic, comparative analysis of the prospects for US democracy under Trump, considering the two regions - Europe and Latin America - that have had the most ample recent experiences with populist chief executives. Chapters analyze the conditions under which populism slides into illiberal or authoritarian rule and in so doing derive well-grounded insights and scenarios for the US case, as well as a more general cross-national framework. The book makes an original argument about the likely resilience of US democracy and its institutions.

Der vorliegende Sammelband leistet einen interdisziplinären Beitrag zur Osteuropaforschung und analysiert vergangene sowie aktuelle Prozesse in der Region. Die Beiträge schlagen einen Bogen vom Staatssozialismus über die Transformation hin zum Nachdenken über alternative Entwicklungen. Was war der Staatssozialismus? Wie prägte der Transformationsprozess die Staaten Mittel- und Osteuropas? Welche emanzipativen Potenziale ermöglichten diese Prozesse? Angesichts aktueller Entwicklungen erscheint eine intensive Beschäftigung mit der Region wichtiger denn je. Das Buch ist zugleich die Festschrift zu Ehren von Prof. Dr. Dieter Segert, der die Osteuropaforschung durch seine vielschichtigen Zugänge geprägt hat. 

This book addresses some of the most pressing questions of our time: Is democracy threatened by globalisation? Is there a legitimacy crisis in contemporary democracies?  Is the welfare state in individual countries under pressure from global trends? What are the implications of high-level migration and rising populism for democracy?  Does authoritarianism pose a challenge? The volume builds on a cross-cultural study of democracy conducted by the Transformation Research Unit (TRU) at Stellenbosch University in South Africa for nearly twenty years. Three of the countries studied - South Africa, Turkey and Poland - receive individual attention as their respective democracies appear to be the most vulnerable at present. Germany, Sweden, Chile, South Korea and Taiwan are assessed in their regional contexts. Further insights are gained by examining the impact on democracy of the global screen culture of Television and the Internet, and by pointing out the lessons democracy should learn from diplomacy to fare better in the future. The book will appeal to both students and practitioners of democracy as well as the general reader.          

This timely and engaging book examines the rise of populism across the globe. Combining insights from linguistics, argumentation theory, rhetoric, legal theory and political theory it offers a fully integrated characterization of the form and content of populist discourse.Throughout the book, eminent scholars address questions central to the topic, such as: how does populism manifest itself rhetorically; how does it relate to liberal democracy; and how can the populist challenge be confronted? Carefully selected case studies are used to examine how populist behaviour deviates from that which we would expect to be the norm in a liberal democracy, for example through the use of obnoxious language and refusal to substantiate vulgar claims. The book also provides key insights into more fundamental issues, such as the opposition between the 'real' people versus the elite and the longing for a 'Heimat'.Offering an in-depth analysis and evaluation at the intersection of language, law and politics, Vox Populi will be of great benefit to students and scholars from a range of disciplines.