Commentaries

When Fuel Prices Turn Political: Trust, Climate Reform, and Everyday Populism in Nigeria

March 29, 2026

Commentaries

How Communication Style Shapes Political Trust More Than Populist Content in Domestic and International Politics

March 29, 2026

Interviews

Prof. Marlière: Local Elections Show Polarization in France Amplifies the Mainstreaming of the Far Right

March 28, 2026

Interviews

Dr. Henriksen: Strict Migration Policy in Denmark Fails to Contain the Radical Right

March 28, 2026

Populism & Politics (P&P)

French Court Ruling Convicting Marine Le Pen: Implications for the Future of the Far Right in France

March 27, 2026

Authoritarianism

See All

Interviews

Dr. Arian: Neither Foreign Powers nor Clerical Elites Represent the Iranian People

In this interview with the ECPS, Dr. Amir Ahmadi Arian offers a penetrating account of Iran at a moment of ...

March 7, 2026

Interviews

Prof. Bjarnegård: Gender Will Become a Central Fault Line Between Liberal Democracy and Authoritarian Populism

In this ECPS interview, Professor Elin Bjarnegård (Uppsala University) argues that gender is no longer a side issue but “a ...

February 26, 2026

Interviews

Prof. Sundar: Almost Every Institution in India Has Been Subverted to Advance a Supremacist Agenda

In this interview with the ECPS, Professor Nandini Sundar (Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University) delivers a stark assessment of ...

February 18, 2026

Interviews

Professor Hett: Trump Is Vastly Less Astute and Less Ruthless Than Hitler

Professor Benjamin Carter Hett, a leading historian of Nazi Germany at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY, joins ECPS ...

February 16, 2026

Interviews

Prof. Costa Pinto: If Victorious, Ventura Would Pursue Orbán-Style Authoritarianism in Portugal

In this in-depth ECPS interview, Professor António Costa Pinto—one of Europe’s leading scholars of authoritarianism—offers a historically grounded analysis of ...

March 28, 2026

Commentaries

From Farce to Tragedy: The First Year of Trump’s Second Term and the Unmaking of America

In “From Farce to Tragedy,” the author traces the first year of Donald Trump’s second term as a turning point ...

January 24, 2026

Interviews

Dr. Kamran Matin: Iran Regime Has Ruled by Coercion, Not Consent

Iran is entering a critical juncture as renewed protests expose both the fragility and the resilience of the Islamic Republic. ...

January 20, 2026

Reports

Virtual Workshop Series — Session 9: Populism, Crime, and the Politics of Exclusion

On January 8, 2026, ECPS convened Session 9 of its Virtual Workshop Series, titled “Populism, Crime, and the Politics of ...

January 11, 2026

Digital Populism

See All

Reports

ECPS Virtual Workshop Series / Session 14 — From Bots to Ballots: AI, Populism, and the Future of Democratic Participation

Please cite as:ECPS Staff. (2026). “Virtual Workshop Series / Session 14 -- From Bots to Ballots: AI, Populism, and the ...

March 25, 2026

Commentaries

Algorithmic Environmental Populism and the Digital Politics of Waste in Africa

Dr. Oludele Solaja’s analysis introduces the concept of “Algorithmic Environmental Populism” to illuminate how digital platforms are reshaping the politics ...

March 23, 2026

Commentaries

“Googling” Patterns during 2026 State of the Union Address – Research Note

This research note introduces high frequency “real-time” Google Trends data as a novel tool for studying public engagement with major ...

March 5, 2026

Interviews

Professor Treisman: Trump’s Push for Executive Aggrandizement Puts Democratic Resilience to the Test

In this ECPS interview, Professor Daniel Treisman examines how Trump’s political style intersects with the logic of informational autocracy and ...

January 27, 2026

Book Reviews

Post-Truth Populism: A New Political Paradigm

Please cite as: Syvak, Nikoletta. (2026). “Post-Truth Populism: A New Political Paradigm.” ECPS Book Reviews. European Center for Populism Studies. ...

January 19, 2026

Commentaries

Dopamine Detox, Self-Discipline, and the Populist Moralization of Responsibility

This commentary interrogates the rising popularity of “dopamine detox” as a moralized response to digital overload and burnout, situating it ...

January 10, 2026

Reports

Virtual Workshop Series — Session 7: Rethinking Representation in an Age of Populism

Session 7 of the ECPS Virtual Workshop Series offered a compelling interdisciplinary examination of how contemporary populism unsettles the foundations ...

December 3, 2025

Populism & Politics (P&P)

Discursive Violence and Moral Repair: The Promise and Limits of Non-Violent Communication Against Populism

DOWNLOAD ARTICLE Please cite as: Ozturk, Ibrahim & Fritsch, Claudia. (2025). “Discursive Violence and Moral Repair: The Promise and Limits ...

November 19, 2025

Economics

See All

Commentaries

Power Transition in the Middle East: The Intersection of US Global Rivalries and Israel’s Regional Ambitions

In this long ECPS commentary, Professor Ibrahim Ozturk examines the 2026 US–Israeli strikes on Iran as part of a broader ...

March 15, 2026

Commentaries

Energy Geopolitics from Hormuz to Lagos: Commodity Shocks and African Vulnerability

In this analysis, Dr. Oludele Solaja examines how geopolitical tensions around the strategic oil chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz ...

March 5, 2026

Upcoming Events

ECPS Academy Summer School — Europe Between Oceans: The Future of the EU Trade Between the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific (July 6-10, 2026)

Are you interested in global trade politics and the future of Europe in a shifting world order? Do you want ...

February 27, 2026

Commentaries

From the ‘End of History’ to the ‘End of a Fiction’: What Davos 2026 Really Announced

Davos 2026 revealed a global order no longer converging on a single liberal model, but sliding into a harsher era ...

January 28, 2026

Reports

From Trade Skirmishes to Trade War? Transatlantic Trade Relations During the Second Trump Administration

Please cite as:Young, Alasdair R. (2026). “From Trade Skirmishes to Trade War? Transatlantic Trade Relations during the Second Trump Administration.” ...

January 20, 2026

Reports

Transatlantic Trade, the Trump Disruption and the World Trade Organization

Please cite as:Jones, Kent. (2026). “Transatlantic Trade, the Trump Disruption and the WTO.” In: Populism and the Future of Transatlantic ...

January 20, 2026

Reports

Vulnerable Groups, Protections and Precarity

Please cite as:Azmanova, Albena. (2026). “Vulnerable Groups, Protections and Precarity.” In: Populism and the Future of Transatlantic Relations: Challenges and ...

January 20, 2026

Commentaries

Can Mamdani’s Municipal Socialism Counter Democratic Backsliding?

In a period of deepening global democratic recession Zohran Mamdani’s ascent as mayor of New York City poses an important ...

November 11, 2025

Environment & Climate

See All

Commentaries

When Fuel Prices Turn Political: Trust, Climate Reform, and Everyday Populism in Nigeria

This commentary examines how fuel pricing in Nigeria has become a central site of democratic contestation, linking economic reform to ...

March 29, 2026

Commentaries

When Floods Become Political: Disaster Relief, Democratic Trust, and Everyday Environmental Populism in Nigeria

In this insightful commentary, Dr. Oludele Solaja reconceptualizes recurrent flooding in Nigeria as a site of political contestation rather than ...

March 25, 2026

Commentaries

Algorithmic Environmental Populism and the Digital Politics of Waste in Africa

Dr. Oludele Solaja’s analysis introduces the concept of “Algorithmic Environmental Populism” to illuminate how digital platforms are reshaping the politics ...

March 23, 2026

Commentaries

Algorithmic Populism and the Politics of Waste: How AI Reproduces Plastic Colonialism in the Global South

In this incisive analysis, Dr. Oludele Solaja interrogates how AI-driven waste governance reproduces global inequalities under the guise of efficiency. ...

March 18, 2026

Commentaries

Climate Populism in the Global South: Environmental Crisis and the Politics of Economic Discontent

Environmental crises are increasingly reshaping political conflict across the Global South. In this ECPS commentary, Dr. Oludele Solaja examines the ...

March 16, 2026

Commentaries

Plastic Colonialism and the Politics of Waste: Toward a Theory of Waste Sovereignty in the Global South

Plastic waste has become one of the defining environmental crises of the twenty-first century—but its politics extend far beyond questions ...

March 13, 2026

Commentaries

War Beyond the Battlefield: Environmental and Human Security in Iran

In this commentary, Dr. Oludele Solaja examines the often-overlooked ecological consequences of modern warfare. Moving beyond traditional analyses focused on ...

March 9, 2026

Commentaries

Climate Security from Below: Community Environmental Action and Democratic Gaps in Coastal Nigeria

Along Nigeria’s vulnerable coastline, climate change is not a projection but a daily struggle shaping survival, governance, and democracy. In ...

March 2, 2026

Extremism & Radicalisation

See All

Interviews

Prof. Marlière: Local Elections Show Polarization in France Amplifies the Mainstreaming of the Far Right

In an era marked by intensifying polarization and electoral fragmentation, France’s 2026 municipal elections offer a revealing lens into the ...

March 28, 2026

Populism & Politics (P&P)

French Court Ruling Convicting Marine Le Pen: Implications for the Future of the Far Right in France

DOWNLOAD ARTICLE Please cite as:Al-Sheikh Daoud, Emad Salah & Al-Dahlaki, Khudhair Abbas. (2026). “French Court Ruling Convicting Marine Le Pen: ...

March 27, 2026

Interviews

Professor Camus: The Boundary Between Mainstream and Radical Right in France Is Blurring Locally

Professor Jean-Yves Camus, a leading scholar of the far right and researcher at the Observatory of Political Radicalities at the ...

March 28, 2026

Interviews

Prof. Sundar: Almost Every Institution in India Has Been Subverted to Advance a Supremacist Agenda

In this interview with the ECPS, Professor Nandini Sundar (Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University) delivers a stark assessment of ...

February 18, 2026

Interviews

Dr. Lopes: Ventura Mobilized ‘Latent Populists,’ but Authoritarian Appeals in Portugal Have Limits

André Ventura’s qualification for the presidential runoff marks a critical moment in Portuguese politics, long viewed as resistant to far-right ...

March 28, 2026

Voice of Youth

November 17th: The Rise of the Far-Right as a ‘Youth Trend’

In this powerful reflection for ECPS – Voice of Youth, high school student Emmanouela Papapavlou warns that the rise of ...

November 18, 2025

Reports

Virtual Workshop Series — Session 3: Populism, Freedom of Religion and Illiberal Regimes

Please cite as:ECPS Staff. (2025). “Virtual Workshop Series — Session 3: Populism, Freedom of Religion and Illiberal Regimes.” European Center ...

October 5, 2025

Commentaries

From the Tea Party to MAGA – How White Christian Nationalism Is Taking Control of the US

In this commentary, Dr. João Ferreira Dias traces the rise of white Christian nationalism from Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” and Reagan’s ...

September 30, 2025

Gender

See All

Voice of Youth

March 8th: For Every Victory That Was Not Considered Important

In this reflective Voice of Youth (VoY) commentary for International Women’s Day, Emmanouela Papapavlou examines how gender hierarchy persists not ...

March 8, 2026

Interviews

Prof. Bjarnegård: Gender Will Become a Central Fault Line Between Liberal Democracy and Authoritarian Populism

In this ECPS interview, Professor Elin Bjarnegård (Uppsala University) argues that gender is no longer a side issue but “a ...

February 26, 2026

Commentaries

Voting with Freebies: How Direct Welfare Benefits Reshape Electoral Behaviour in India

In this analytically rich commentary, ECPS Youth Group member Saurabh Raj examines how direct welfare delivery is transforming electoral politics ...

December 29, 2025

Commentaries

Iran and Turkey through ‘The Golden Cage’ and ‘Contextual Gendered Racialization’ Lens: Populism, Law, Gender and Freedom

In this commentary, Dr. Hafza Girdap offers a compelling comparative analysis of populism, law, gender, and freedom across two authoritarian ...

December 22, 2025

Voice of Youth

November 25: The Normalization of Violence and the Forgetting That Keeps It Alive

In this compelling VoY essay, Emmanouela Papapavlou confronts the uncomfortable truth behind society’s yearly cycle of remembrance on November 25th. ...

November 25, 2025

Interviews

Prof. Klein: It Is Difficult to Label Japanese PM Takaichi a Populist, Despite Her Nationalism and Anti-Feminism

In this incisive interview for the ECPS, Professor Axel Klein offers a nuanced assessment of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ...

November 22, 2025

Interviews

Dr. de Silva: Anti-Gender Narratives Are Highly Interlinked and Interconnected Across Borders

“Anti-gender discourses are very interlinked and interconnected; we see these floating narratives repeated across countries like Latvia, Poland, and Russia,” ...

March 28, 2026

Commentaries

Popular, Not Populist? Imran Khan and the Civil–Military Grammar of Populism in Pakistan

In this incisive commentary, feminist scholar Afiya S. Zia dissects the myth that Imran Khan is “popular, not populist.” Drawing ...

October 24, 2025

Human Rights

See All

Commentaries

War Beyond the Battlefield: Environmental and Human Security in Iran

In this commentary, Dr. Oludele Solaja examines the often-overlooked ecological consequences of modern warfare. Moving beyond traditional analyses focused on ...

March 9, 2026

Interviews

Dr. Arian: Neither Foreign Powers nor Clerical Elites Represent the Iranian People

In this interview with the ECPS, Dr. Amir Ahmadi Arian offers a penetrating account of Iran at a moment of ...

March 7, 2026

Interviews

Prof. Sundar: Almost Every Institution in India Has Been Subverted to Advance a Supremacist Agenda

In this interview with the ECPS, Professor Nandini Sundar (Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University) delivers a stark assessment of ...

February 18, 2026

Voice of Youth

Law, Order and the Lives in Between

In this Voice of Youth (VoY) article, Emmanouela Papapavlou delivers a powerful reflection on state violence, immigration enforcement, and the ...

January 11, 2026

Journal of Populism Studies

Alcoholic Mobsters and Welfare Criminals: Xenophobia, Welfare Chauvinism and Populism in Gyurcsány Ferenc’s Facebook Posts on Ukrainian Citizens Prior to the War

Please cite as:Andits, Petra. (2026). “Alcoholic Mobsters and Welfare Criminals: Xenophobia, Welfare Chauvinism and Populism in Gyurcsány Ferenc’s Facebook Posts ...

January 10, 2026

Commentaries

Iran and Turkey through ‘The Golden Cage’ and ‘Contextual Gendered Racialization’ Lens: Populism, Law, Gender and Freedom

In this commentary, Dr. Hafza Girdap offers a compelling comparative analysis of populism, law, gender, and freedom across two authoritarian ...

December 22, 2025

Voice of Youth

The Humanity of Migration

In this timely and powerful Voice of Youth (VoY) essay, Emmanouela Papapavlou reframes migration not as a crisis or threat, ...

December 15, 2025

Commentaries

Peace with the Kurds in Turkey: What about It?

In this incisive analysis, political scientist Professor Cengiz Aktar examines Ankara’s latest initiative toward the Kurds, arguing that what has ...

December 10, 2025

Global Peace & Order

See All

Commentaries

How Communication Style Shapes Political Trust More Than Populist Content in Domestic and International Politics

This commentary advances a critical intervention in debates on political persuasion by foregrounding original pilot research on communication and trust. ...

March 29, 2026

Commentaries

Power Transition in the Middle East: The Intersection of US Global Rivalries and Israel’s Regional Ambitions

In this long ECPS commentary, Professor Ibrahim Ozturk examines the 2026 US–Israeli strikes on Iran as part of a broader ...

March 15, 2026

Interviews

Prof. Klein: Political Transformation in Iran May Come, but Not in the Way the West Expects

Professor Peter W. Klein offers a historically grounded warning against simplistic regime-change narratives in Iran. In this ECPS interview, the ...

March 18, 2026

Commentaries

Energy Geopolitics from Hormuz to Lagos: Commodity Shocks and African Vulnerability

In this analysis, Dr. Oludele Solaja examines how geopolitical tensions around the strategic oil chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz ...

March 5, 2026

Interviews

Dr. Shahriari: Without Western Recognition, Rojava Lacks Leverage to Secure a Lasting Power-Sharing Deal with Damascus

In this ECPS interview, Dr. Soheila Shahriari offers a theoretically grounded diagnosis of Rojava’s most precarious post-ISIS moment. She argues ...

March 3, 2026

Interviews

Prof. Hathaway: A Moment of Peril—and Possibility—to Reimagine the International Legal Order

Giving an interview to the ECPS, Professor Oona A. Hathaway reflects on the resilience and fragility of the post-1945 international ...

March 1, 2026

Upcoming Events

ECPS Academy Summer School — Europe Between Oceans: The Future of the EU Trade Between the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific (July 6-10, 2026)

Are you interested in global trade politics and the future of Europe in a shifting world order? Do you want ...

February 27, 2026

Reports

ECPS Panel at European Parliament: Populism, Trump, and Changing Transatlantic Relations

Please cite as:ECPS Staff (2026). “ECPS Panel at European Parliament: Populism, Trump, and Changing Transatlantic Relations.” European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS). February ...

February 20, 2026

Leadership & Persona

See All

Commentaries

How Communication Style Shapes Political Trust More Than Populist Content in Domestic and International Politics

This commentary advances a critical intervention in debates on political persuasion by foregrounding original pilot research on communication and trust. ...

March 29, 2026

Populism & Politics (P&P)

French Court Ruling Convicting Marine Le Pen: Implications for the Future of the Far Right in France

DOWNLOAD ARTICLE Please cite as:Al-Sheikh Daoud, Emad Salah & Al-Dahlaki, Khudhair Abbas. (2026). “French Court Ruling Convicting Marine Le Pen: ...

March 27, 2026

Voice of Youth

I Have a Dream

In this compelling Voice of Youth (VoY) contribution, Emmanouela Papapavlou revisits the enduring moral and political legacy of Martin Luther ...

March 18, 2026

Commentaries

“Googling” Patterns during 2026 State of the Union Address – Research Note

This research note introduces high frequency “real-time” Google Trends data as a novel tool for studying public engagement with major ...

March 5, 2026

Interviews

Prof. Kopstein: Trumpism, Better Understood in Patrimonial Terms, Treats the State as a Family Business

Professor Jeffrey Kopstein argues that Trumpism is best analyzed not primarily as populism, but as patrimonial rule—where “the state itself ...

March 4, 2026

Interviews

Professor Hett: Trump Is Vastly Less Astute and Less Ruthless Than Hitler

Professor Benjamin Carter Hett, a leading historian of Nazi Germany at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY, joins ECPS ...

February 16, 2026

Interviews

Prof. Costa Pinto: If Victorious, Ventura Would Pursue Orbán-Style Authoritarianism in Portugal

In this in-depth ECPS interview, Professor António Costa Pinto—one of Europe’s leading scholars of authoritarianism—offers a historically grounded analysis of ...

March 28, 2026

Commentaries

From Farce to Tragedy: The First Year of Trump’s Second Term and the Unmaking of America

In “From Farce to Tragedy,” the author traces the first year of Donald Trump’s second term as a turning point ...

January 24, 2026

Migration

See All

Interviews

Dr. Henriksen: Strict Migration Policy in Denmark Fails to Contain the Radical Right

In this ECPS interview, Dr. Frederik Møller Henriksen offers an in-depth assessment of Denmark’s 2026 general election, highlighting both continuity ...

March 28, 2026

Reports

UNTOLD Europe Workshop – Case Study Session Report

The interactive case study session of the UNTOLD Europe Workshop (Brussels, 21 October 2025) translated critical discussions on colonial legacies, ...

February 11, 2026

Policy Papers

Towards Coherent and Human Rights-Based Migration Governance in Europe: Addressing Structural Imbalances in the Light of Colonial Narratives on Migration in Europe

This policy paper, developed from the Untold Europe workshop (Brussels, 21 October 2025), examines structural imbalances in European migration governance across three ...

February 11, 2026

Reports

The Illiberal Bargain on Migration

Please cite as:Andersson, Ruben. (2026). “The Illiberal Bargain on Migration.” In: Populism and the Future of Transatlantic Relations: Challenges and ...

January 20, 2026

Voice of Youth

Law, Order and the Lives in Between

In this Voice of Youth (VoY) article, Emmanouela Papapavlou delivers a powerful reflection on state violence, immigration enforcement, and the ...

January 11, 2026

Journal of Populism Studies

Alcoholic Mobsters and Welfare Criminals: Xenophobia, Welfare Chauvinism and Populism in Gyurcsány Ferenc’s Facebook Posts on Ukrainian Citizens Prior to the War

Please cite as:Andits, Petra. (2026). “Alcoholic Mobsters and Welfare Criminals: Xenophobia, Welfare Chauvinism and Populism in Gyurcsány Ferenc’s Facebook Posts ...

January 10, 2026

Voice of Youth

The Humanity of Migration

In this timely and powerful Voice of Youth (VoY) essay, Emmanouela Papapavlou reframes migration not as a crisis or threat, ...

December 15, 2025

Journal of Populism Studies

Civilizational Populism and Migration Diplomacy: Tunisia, the European Union, and Italy 

Please cite as: Murphey, Helen L. (2025). “Civilizational Populism and Migration Diplomacy: Tunisia, the European Union, and Italy.” Journal of ...

November 23, 2025

ECPS Youth

See All

Voice of Youth

I Have a Dream

In this compelling Voice of Youth (VoY) contribution, Emmanouela Papapavlou revisits the enduring moral and political legacy of Martin Luther ...

March 18, 2026

Voice of Youth

March 8th: For Every Victory That Was Not Considered Important

In this reflective Voice of Youth (VoY) commentary for International Women’s Day, Emmanouela Papapavlou examines how gender hierarchy persists not ...

March 8, 2026

Upcoming Events

ECPS Academy Summer School — Europe Between Oceans: The Future of the EU Trade Between the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific (July 6-10, 2026)

Are you interested in global trade politics and the future of Europe in a shifting world order? Do you want ...

February 27, 2026

Voice of Youth

To Where? On Language, Identity, Belonging, and the Cost of Silence

In this reflective essay, 15-year old Sojoud Al-Hjouj interrogates the intimate relationship between language, identity, and authenticity in contemporary life. ...

January 30, 2026

Voice of Youth

Law, Order and the Lives in Between

In this Voice of Youth (VoY) article, Emmanouela Papapavlou delivers a powerful reflection on state violence, immigration enforcement, and the ...

January 11, 2026

Commentaries

Voting with Freebies: How Direct Welfare Benefits Reshape Electoral Behaviour in India

In this analytically rich commentary, ECPS Youth Group member Saurabh Raj examines how direct welfare delivery is transforming electoral politics ...

December 29, 2025

Voice of Youth

The Humanity of Migration

In this timely and powerful Voice of Youth (VoY) essay, Emmanouela Papapavlou reframes migration not as a crisis or threat, ...

December 15, 2025

Voice of Youth

November 25: The Normalization of Violence and the Forgetting That Keeps It Alive

In this compelling VoY essay, Emmanouela Papapavlou confronts the uncomfortable truth behind society’s yearly cycle of remembrance on November 25th. ...

November 25, 2025

Related Terms:

• Term: Welfare Chauvinism
• Term: Immigration
• Term: Populism
• Term: Autocracy