A protester, with half his face covered, holds up a placard at the sit-in protest at Speaker's Corner, Hong Lim Park, Singapore on  September 16, 2017. Photo: Tan Zi Han.

Mapping Global Populism — Panel #6: Varieties of Populism and Authoritarianism in Malaysia & Singapore

Date/Time: Thursday, October 26, 2023 — 10:00-12:00 (CET)

Click here to register!

Moderator

Dr. Garry Rodan (Honorary Professor of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland).

Speakers

“Political Islam and Islamist Populism in Malaysia: Implications for Nation-Building,” by Dr. Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid (Professor of Political Science, University Sains Malaysia).

“Islamist Civilizationism in Malaysia,” by Dr. Syaza Farhana Mohamad Shukri (Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia).

“Authoritarian Populism in Singapore,” by Dr. Kenneth Paul Tan (Professor of Politics, Film, and Cultural Studies, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University). 

“Populism, religion, and anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes in Malaysia,” Dr. Shanon Shah (Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King’s College London).

Click here to register!

 

 

Brief Biographies and Abstracts

Dr. Garry Rodan is an Honorary Professor of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland. His thematic research interest is the relationship between capitalist development and political regime directions in Southeast Asia. Attempting to characterise and explain dynamic forms of authoritarianism has been a particular focus. His authored books include Participation without Democracy and The Politics of Accountability in Southeast Asia.

Political Islam and Islamist Populism in Malaysia: Implications for Nation-Building

Abstract: As an offshoot of the global Islamic resurgence that has swept the Muslim world since the 1980s, Islamist violence in Malaysia has been very much the exception rather than the rule. Without dismissing claims of the presence of various social, political and psychological factors that purportedly influence militants into intermittently translating their violent extremist dispositions into actual occurrences of terrorism, the speaker argues that the ideology of hatred of allegedly less than Islamic established authorities and of the ‘Other,’ of which include both non-Muslims and Muslims who do not practice their faith, goads its adherents into becoming politically aggressive in a mostly non-violently manner towards their perceived enemies. The line of reasoning they adopt is specifically ‘Islamist,’ referring to politically arbitrary interpretations of Islam, rather than ‘Islamic’ as per the Islamic faith as interrogated through its multi-faceted dimensions. It is also ‘populist’ in the sense of capitalizing on the popular sentiments of the indigenous Malay-Muslim populace. Dragged into ethno-religious political antics such as to portray their political adversaries as proxies of non-Malay interests intent on subverting a Malay-dominated ethnocratic state, the Malay-Muslims find an avenue for such racially-tinged discourse in social media, with deleterious consequences for nation-building. Since November 2022, such voices have found themselves to be uncharacteristically positioned on the opposition side within Malaysia’s broad democratic landscape, where competitive elections are regularly held, opposition is legalised and civil society given room to grow, amidst unfair advantages and lop-sided access to state machineries that accrue to the ruling government of the day.

Bio: Dr Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid is Professor of Political Science, School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia, and an elected member of the USM Senate. He graduated from the universities of Oxford, Leeds and Newcastle, United Kingdom. He was a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) (February 2021-January 2022), and has held Visiting Fellowships with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore (2008-2009); the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore (2015-2016); the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kuala Lumpur (October-December 2020), and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, United Kingdom as Scholar-in-Residence (January-June 2021). A prolific author in the political Islam of Southeast Asia, Ahmad Fauzi has published over fifty scholarly articles in leading journals such as Indonesia and the Malay World, Islamic Studies, Asian Studies Review, Southeast Asian Studies, Asian Journal of Political Science, Japanese Journal of Political Science, Asian Survey, Pacific Affairs, Sojourn, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations,Contemporary Southeast Asia, The Round Table, Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society and Politics, Religion and Ideology. He has also contributed over forty book chapters to edited volumes produced by prestigious international publishers, the latest being ‘Different streams of Malay nationalism from the late colonial to contemporary eras’, in Lu Zhouxiang (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Nationalism in East and Southeast Asia (New York and London: Routledge, 2024) (with Azmi Arifin). Ahmad Fauzi presently serves as editor-in-chief of Kajian Malaysia: Journal of Malaysian Studies and an editorial board member of Kemanusiaan: The Asian Journal of Humanities, both published by USM Press. Since December 2018, he has been serving as consultant expert for Malaysia’s Home Ministry, on terrorism cases investigated under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA) 2012.Email: afauzi@usm.my

Islamist Civilizationism in Malaysia

Bio: Dr. Syaza Shukri is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia. Her area of specialization is in comparative politics, specifically in democratization and politics in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Her current research interests include populism, identity politics, inter-ethnic relations, political Islam, geopolitics, and gender studies, specifically in Muslim-majority contexts.

Among Dr. Shukri’s recent works is “Populism and Muslim Democracies,” published in Asian Politics & Policy. She is also currently working on a book chapter on Islamist populism in Malaysia since 2018.

Dr. Shukri has degrees from the University of Pittsburgh (where she graduated summa cum laude), the London School of Economics and Political Science, and International Islamic University Malaysia. She can be reached at syazashukri@iium.edu.my.

Authoritarian Populism in Singapore

Abstract: With its reputation for political stability, social cohesion, and economical wealth, global-city Singapore is very rarely discussed as a case for thinking about populist politics. Kenneth Paul Tan will explore what lies behind this reputation and discuss how the Singapore system, led by a government celebrated as clean, meritocratic, and pragmatic, is now showing signs of change not necessarily in the direction of democratization, but towards authoritarian forms of populism, first of the right and then of the left.

Bio: Kenneth Paul TAN is a tenured Professor of Politics, Film, and Cultural Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. He teaches and conducts interdisciplinary research at the Academy of Film, the Department of Journalism, the Department of Government and International Studies, and the Smart Society Lab. His books include Asia in the Old and New Cold Wars: Ideologies, Narratives, and Lived Experiences (Palgrave MacMillan, 2023), Movies to Save Our World: Imagining Poverty, Inequality and Environmental Destruction in the 21st Century (Penguin, 2022), Singapore’s First Year of COVID-19: Public Health, Immigration, the Neoliberal State, and Authoritarian Populism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), Singapore: Identity, Brand, Power (Cambridge University Press, 2018), Governing Global-City Singapore: Legacies and Futures After Lee Kuan Yew (Routledge, 2017), Cinema and Television in Singapore: Resistance in One Dimension (Brill, 2008), and Renaissance Singapore? Economy, Culture, and Politics (NUS Press, 2007). Previously, he was a tenured Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore. He has held visiting fellowships, and honorary and adjunct professorships at the Australian National University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Georgetown University (on a Fulbright Fellowship), Harvard University, Sciences Po, the University of Duisburg-Essen, and the University of Hong Kong. His degrees are from the University of Cambridge (PhD, Social and Political Sciences) and the University of Bristol (BSc First Class Honours, Economics and Politics).

Populism, religion, and anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes in Malaysia

Abstract: Ethno-religious politics in Malaysia continue to have a significant impact upon the country’s democratic transition, especially since the historic 2018 and 2022 general elections. Both elections involved moral and populist battles between political rivals, in which the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ+) people were – and continue to be – weaponized by ethno-religious nationalists as well as political leaders who have seemingly adopted more reformist rhetoric. But can anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes in Malaysia be explained simply as a cause of religiously inspired populism? This presentation probes this question by discussing some longer-term trends in the so-called Islamisation process in Malaysia at the levels of political rhetoric, implementation, and new frontiers in online interactions.

Bio: Dr. Shanon Shah is Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King’s College London. In this capacity, he conducts research with the Information Network Focus on Religious Movements (Inform) and teaches at the University of London Worldwide’s Divinity programme. He holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from King’s College London. Dr Shah’s research and teaching interests include the ethnographic study of religion, contemporary Islam and Christianity, gender and sexuality, minority religions and alternative spiritualities, and environmental and social justice movements. He is the author of the monograph The Making of a Gay Muslim: Religion, Sexuality and Identity in Malaysia and Britain (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). Dr Shah is also the director of Faith for the Climate, a British charity focusing on collaborative action by faith groups to address the climate crisis.

 

PTI supporter at Jinnah Cricket Stadium during a political rally of cricketer turned politician Imran Khan on March 23, 2012 in Sialkot, Pakistan. Photo: Jahanzaib Naiyyer.

Mapping Global Populism — Panel #5: Unveiling Many Faces of Populism in Pakistan 

Date/Time: Thursday, September 28, 2023 — 10:00-12:30 (CET)

 

This panel is jointly organised by The European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS) and The Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI) .

 

Click here to register!

 

Moderator

Dr Susan de Groot Heupner (Associate Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation in Melbourne, Australia).

Speakers 

“Imran Khan’s Populist Narratives: An Analysis,”  by Dr Samina Yasmeen (Professor, Head of Department of International Relations, Asian Studies and Politics in University of Western Australia’s School of Social Sciences).

“Media and Populism in Pakistan” by Ramsha Jahangir (A media professional and researcher).

“The Land of Pure: Islamic Populism in Pakistan’s Identity Project and the Rise of Radical Islam,” by Dr Fizza Batool(Assistant Professor of Social Sciences at SZABIST University, Karachi, Pakistan).

Military and Populism in Pakistan,” by Dr Raja M. Ali Saleem (Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Centre for Public Policy and Governance at Forman Christian College in Lahore, Pakistan).

“‘I Am Democracy’: The Appeal of Imran’s Khan’s Populism for Pakistani Women,” Dr Afiya Shehrbano Zia (Pakistani feminist researcher on gender and social development).

 

Click here to register!

 


 

Brief Biographies and Abstracts

Dr Susan de Groot Heupner is a political sociologist with a research focus on populist mobilisations and the formation of hegemonic ideological constructions. She is an Adjunct Fellow at the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research in Brisbane, Australia, where she works on civilisational fantasies and politics. In the position of Senior Researcher, she also coordinates a large survey on Indigenous media and broadcasting in Australia at Griffith University. In the position of Associate Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation in Melbourne, Australia, she works on two Australian Research Council projects examining religious populism, transnational polarisation, and emotive mobilisation. She is Managing Editor for the Journal of Alternative and Community Media, and Editorial Board member for the Political Sociology section at Sociology Compass. She has published in journals such as Politics and ReligionReligionsJournal of Intercultural Studies, and Journal of International Communication, and has a forthcoming monograph with Leiden University Press. She has also contributed to public media platforms like The Conversation and Enlighten.

Imran Khan’s Populist Narratives: An Analysis

Professor Samina Yasmeen heads the Department of International Relations, Asian Studies and Politics in University of Western Australia’s School of Social Sciences. She is a teacher and researcher, and director and founder of the university’s Centre for Muslim States and Societies. She focuses on understanding perceptions of and by Muslims and Islam around the world and seeks to make an impact on Australian and global politics.

AbstractThe presentation would focus on the use of narratives by populist leaders, and locate Imran khan’s narrative-building since April 2022. It would identify the ‘ideal state’ promoted as the aim of his rallies and online presentations, his analysis of the current state of Pakistan and the need for agentic activism on part of the youth. The presentation will assess the outcomes of his populist narratives and their implications for Pakistan’s political future.

Media and Populism in Pakistan

Ramsha Jahangir is a Pakistani journalist, researcher, and trainer, specializing in technology and human rights. Her work is focused on internet rights, mis/disinformation, online regulation & censorship, and digital society. Jahangir is a recipient of four national journalism awards for ‘in-depth and tenacious’ coverage of internet clampdown and disinformation in Pakistan.

The Land of Pure: Islamic Populism in Pakistan’s Identity Project and the Rise of Radical Islam

Dr Fizza Batool is an academic and policy researcher with a particular interest in Comparative Politics, Comparative Democratization, Peace Studies, and Populism. She is currently an Assistant Professor (Social Sciences) at SZABIST University, Karachi. Previously, she worked for over a decade in the research and development sector where she served in important managerial positions. Her works have been published in some prestigious research journals like South Asia: Journal of South Asian StudiesPakistan Horizon etc. She also contributes to English dailies in Pakistan and international research magazines such as South Asian Voices. She was one of the 2020 SAV Visiting Fellows at Stimson Center, DC.

Abstract: Pakistan literally means the land of pure. This focus on the purity of the people underlines that religious moralism has overshadowed the state identity since its inception. Pakistan was the first country founded on Islamic nationalism, and the main theme of the political discourse during the Pakistan Movement was the antagonistic relationship between Muslims and Hindus as two separate nations. After the creation of Pakistan, the state under dire pressure of giving one singular identity to its otherwise diverse population, opted to continue pitting the pure Pakistanis against the evil Indians. However, with no clarity on what form or level of religiosity is expected from its people to be declared a pure Muslim, different elected and non-elected governments as well as political parties and movements came up with their own political construct of Pakistani identity, creating an ontological insecurity in the country. In this presentation, I will highlight that this antagonistic and moralist construction of Pakistan’s identity, and the resulting ambiguity, has given space for radical Islamic populism to gain strength in the country. The country leadership critically needs to adopt pluralist discourse and socio-cultural identity construction to counter the wave of radical Islamic movements and parties.   

Military and Populism in Pakistan

Dr Raja M. Ali Saleem is an Associate Professor (Public Policy) at the Centre for Public Policy and Governance at Forman Christian College in Lahore, Pakistan. He is a former civil servant and has more than 20 years of diverse experience in government and academia. Dr. Saleem’s research focuses on religious nationalism, the relationship between church and state, the politics of Muslim-majority countries, especially Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, local governments, public financial management, the role of the military in politics, and democratic consolidation. In 2020, Dr. Saleem was a Fellow of Wolfson College, University of Oxford. His first book, State, Nationalism, and Islamization: Historical Analysis of Turkey and Pakistan, was published by Palgrave-Macmillan in 2017.

‘I Am Democracy’: The Appeal of Imran’s Khan’s Populism for Pakistani Women

Dr Afiya Shehrbano Zia (Ph.D. Women and Gender Studies) has held the Frank B Weeks chair as Visiting Assistant Professor of Feminist, Gender, and Sexualities Studies at Wesleyan University (2021-2022). She has taught at the University of Toronto, Canada, and Habib University in Pakistan. Afiya is author of Faith and Feminism in Pakistan; Religious Agency or Secular Autonomy? (2018, SAP) and two dozen peer-reviewed essays for scholarly journals including, Pious populist political masculinities in Pakistan and India, SAP, 2022.

Abstract: Despite his political conservatism and underachievement, Pakistan’s former sportsman turned Prime Minister, Imran Khan (2018-2022), remains a populist leader. Sympathy and adulation for him has only escalated after his removal from office by a No-Confidence Vote. The military propped him as a paragon of incorruptible honesty but quickly became impatient with their prodigy’s empty rhetoric and defiance that unsettled military hegemony, especially from rank and file. 

Paradoxically, Khan denies being fostered by the Deep State but is personally aggrieved over abandonment by its shallow conceits. This moral injury has triggered reactionary and violent protest rallies by his party, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) comprising of young, mostly urban middle-class, outraged, weeping supporters.

The trope of victimhood is common to all deposed parties but the PTI supporters and trolls weaponise gender, nationalism, and piety with technical alacrity for emotive results. Khan holds blatant misogynist views yet commands a cult-like following of women followers on par with past and current demagogues.

The presentation will focus on images and competitive tropes of this populism which include performances of piety, grief, and forfeiture of feminine desires for the populist; the illusory hope of Pakistani diaspora and the power of the narrative of sovereignty of the Islamic Republic. The civil-military hybrid experiment has failed yet again, leaving in its wake a failing economy and long-term adverse effects on democracy, women, and human rights.

An army of Hindu Sanyasis is geared up for battle to protect their dharma at any cost. Illustration: Young Moves Media (Shutterstock).

Mapping Global Populism — Panel #4: The Role of Populism, Radicalization and Hindutva in India

Date/Time: Thursday, August 31, 2023 — 10:00-12:00 (CET)

 

This panel is jointly organised by The European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS), The Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI)  and the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Adelaide.

 

Click here to register!

 

Moderator 

Dr Priya Chacko (Head of the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Adelaide, Australia).

Speakers

“Politics, ethics, and emotions in ‘New India’,” by Dr Ajay Gudavarthy (Associate Professor at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi).

“Ram Rajya 2.0: How nostalgia aids the populist politics of neo-colonial Hindutva futurism,” by Maggie Paul (PhD candidate in Politics and International Relations at the University of Adelaide, Australia).

“Constitutional roots of judicial populism in India,” by Dr Anuj Bhuwania (Professor at the Jindal Global Law School in India & currently Senior Visiting Fellow at the SCRIPTS ‘Cluster of Excellence’ at Freie University Berlin).

“India’s refugee policy towards Rohingya refugees: An intersectional approach to populism,” by Dr Monika Barthwal-Datta (Senior Lecturer in International Security at the University of New South Wales, Sydney) and Dr Shweta Singh (Associate Professor of International Relations at the South Asian University, New Delhi, India).

 

Click here to register!

 

 

Brief Biographies and Abstracts

Dr Priya Chacko is Head of the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Adelaide. Her current research includes authoritarian populism, economic nationalism, and foreign policy, with a focus on India and diaspora politics, racial capitalism and foreign policy, with a focus on Australia. 

Politics, ethics, and emotions in ‘New India

Bio: Dr Ajay Gudavarthy is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is a regular contributor to leading news dailies in India that include The Hindu, The Indian express, The Telegraph, The Wire, The Outlook and Newsclick. He has appeared on and shared his views with various international print media and news channels including Channel News Asia (Singapore), Al Jajeera, The Conversation, South China Morning Post, BBC, The Independent and The Time Magazine, Friday Times, Khaleej times, The Dawn, Arab News, The Diplomat, among others.

Ram Rajya 2.0: How nostalgia aids the populist politics of neo-colonial Hindutva futurism

Abstract: This presentation to argue that authoritarian populist politics in India utilizes populist discursive and mobilizing strategies to advance a ‘Hindutva futurism’ built on the neoliberal economics of market prosperity and a civilizationalist ideology which is preoccupied with internal disunity, external threats, and celebrating and recovering a lost civilizational glory. The symbolism of Hindutva futurism has been epitomized by an archetypal past-cum-future imaginary that has had many lives in India, Ram Rajya (Ram’s kingdom) – the utopian rule of an upper-caste Hindu God Ram in the epic Ramayana characterized by peace and prosperity. Through an exploration of the campaign to build a Ram temple on the site of a demolished mosque and Ram-themed films, the presentation will show that the invocation of Ram and Ram Rajya produces an affective economy of nostalgia. This utilizes the language of affective injury and restorative justice to invoke emotions related to resentment and aspiration to cultivate a populist cleavage between a persecuted Hindu people and privileged liberal-left ‘elites’ and religious minorities which justifies the neocolonial domination of the latter by the former.

Bios: Dr Priya Chackois Head of the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Adelaide. Her current research includes authoritarian populism, economic nationalism, and foreign policy, with a focus on India and diaspora politics, racial capitalism and foreign policy, with a focus on Australia. 

Maggie Paul is a PhD candidate in Politics and International Relations at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Her research interests include the contestations of citizenship in the South Asian context, politics at the urban margins as well as decolonial, post-development and pluriversal theory (and practice). Her current research focuses on how the colonial, and nationalist, construction of the “infiltrator” figure from Bangladesh affects contemporary citizenship in India, rendering it contingent

Constitutional roots of judicial populism in India

Bio: Anuj Bhuwania is currently a Senior Visiting Fellow at the SCRIPTS ‘Cluster of Excellence’ at Freie University Berlin. He is a Professor at the Jindal Global Law School in India. He has previously held visiting positions at the University of Cambridge, University of Göttingen, Jawaharlal Nehru University and at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi. He is the author of ‘Courting the People: Public Interest Litigation in Post-Emergency India’ (Cambridge University Press, 2017). Email address: anujbhuwania@gmail.com

India’s refugee policy towards Rohingya refugees: An intersectional approach to populism

Abstract: Contemporary investigations into links between populism and foreign policy overwhelmingly favor an ideational approach to populism, are largely aimed at developing universally applicable insights or rules and treat foreign policy as a set of discrete domains for action. Such studies are constrained in their ability to generate complex, nuanced and empirically rich understandings of how domestic populist politics link to shifts in policy preferences and outcomes in the name of ‘foreign policy.’ In this study, we develop an intersectional analytical approach to investigating the links between populism and foreign policy, through a case study of India’s shifting refugee policy towards Rohingyas under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Modi government. We conceptualize refugee policy as foreign policy and interrogate the categories of ‘the people’ and ‘other’ not as monolithic, but as intersectionally constituted along varying discursive identity constellations, and investigate them in the context of regional political dynamics. In these ways, we expand the scope of populist foreign policy analysis, and highlight how foreign policies of populist governments cannot be understood without insights into the complex intersectional ways in which the ‘people’ and the ‘other’ are co-constituted and reinforced in and through ‘foreign policy.’

Bios: Dr Monika Barthwal-Datta is a Senior Lecturer in International Security at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney. Her research areas include critical security studies, decolonial feminist approaches, non-traditional security issues, strategic narratives, South Asian security, and Indian foreign policy. She is the author of Understanding Security Practices in South Asia: Securitization Theory and the role of non-state actors (Abingdon: Routledge 2012) and Food Security in Asia: Challenges, Policies and Implications

Dr Shweta Singh is Associate Professor of International Relations at the South Asian University (New Delhi, India). She is co-editor (with Tiina Vaittinen and Catia Confortini) of the Edinburgh University Press series titled Edinburg Feminist Studies on Peace, Justice and Violence. Her recent publications include the special issue (co-edited with Ingrid Nyoborg, and Gunhild Hoogensen Gjorv), ‘Re-thinking Violence, Everyday and (In) Security: Feminist/Intersectional Interventions,’ Journal of Human Security (2022) and ‘Towards an intersectional approach to populism: comparative perspectives from Finland and India’ (with Elise Feron), Contemporary Politics (2021). She has served as the UN Women International Expert on Populism, Nationalism, and Gender (Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific).

 

Click here to register!

Photo: Matej Kastelic.

ECPS Academy Summer School — Populism, War and Crises: How populism interacts with crises during wartime? (July 3-7, 2023)

Are you passionate about global politics and understanding the dynamics that shape it? Are you looking for a way to expand your knowledge under the supervision of leading experts, seeking an opportunity to exchange views in a multicultural, multi-disciplinary environment, or simply in need of a few extra ECTS credits for your studies? Then consider applying to ECPS Summer School. The European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS) is looking for young people for a unique opportunity to assess the relationship between populism, war and crises in a five-day Summer School led by global experts from a variety of backgrounds. The Summer School will be interactive, allowing participants to hold discussions in a friendly environment among themselves in small groups and exchange views with the lecturers. You will also participate in a Case Competition on the same topic, a unique experience to develop problem-solving skills in cooperation with others and under tight schedules. 

Overview 

Our world is going through turbulent times on many fronts struggling with complex challenges emanating from various crises in different spheres of life. In parallel to this, we observe that these crises create convenient environments for populist politics and, in some cases, contribute to the emergence and success of populist parties. These developments align with the conclusion that populism usually occurs within a crisis scenario. Thus, we have decided to discuss the relationship between crises and populism at this year’s ECPS Summer School. To this end, for practicality, we categorise contemporary crises into five groups and will analyse them accordingly: political crisis and populism, economic crisis and populism, cultural crisis and populism, environmental crisis and populism, and health crisis and populism. Keeping in mind that crises vary in nature, and each has different consequences depending on the conjuncture in which they emerge; we will examine these five groups by taking into account the repercussions of the current international political context, particularly the war in Ukraine. 

The lecturers for this year’s Summer School are Professor Kai Arzheimer, Professor Jocelyne Cesari, Professor Sergei Guriev, Dr Heidi Hart, Dr Gideon Lasco, Professor Nonna Mayer, Professor John Meyer, Professor Ibrahim Ozturk, Professor Neil Robinson, and Professor Ewen Speed.  

The program will take place on Zoom, consisting of two sessions each day. Over the course of five days, interactive lectures by these world-leading experts will discuss the nexus between populism and the crises we are facing today from a variety of angles. The lectures are complemented by small group discussions and Q&A sessions moderated by experts in the field. The final program with the list of speakers will be announced soon. 

Moreover, this year, the Summer School will comprise a Case Competition on a real-life problem within the broad topic of populism, crises and war.  Participants will be divided into teams to work together on solving the case and are expected to prepare policy suggestions. The proposals of the participants will be evaluated by a panel of scholars and experts based on criteria such as creativity, feasibility, and presentation skills. 

Our five-day schedule offers young people a dynamic, engaging and interdisciplinary learning environment with an intellectually challenging program presented by world-class scholars of populism, allowing them to grow as future academics, intellectuals, activists and public leaders. Participants have the opportunity to develop invaluable cross-cultural perspectives and facilitate a knowledge exchange that goes beyond European borders.

Who should apply?

This unique course is open to master’s and PhD level students and graduates, early career researchers and post-docs from any discipline.  The deadline for submitting applications is June 23, 2023. The applicants should send their CVs to the email address ecps@populismstudies.org with the subject line: ECPS Summer School Application.

We value the high level of diversity in our courses, welcoming applications from people of all backgrounds. 

Evaluation Criteria and Certificate of Attendance

Meeting the assessment criteria is required from all participants aiming to complete the program and receive a certificate of attendance. The evaluation criteria include full attendance and active participation in lectures.

Certificate of Attendance will be awarded to the participants who attend at least 80% of the sessions. Certificates are sent to students only by email.

Credit

This course is worth 5 ECTS in the European system. If you intend to transfer credit to your home institution, please check the requirements with them before you apply. We will be happy to assist you; however, please be aware that the decision to transfer credit rests with your home institution.

 


 

Topics and Lecturers

 

Day 1: July 3, 2023

Political Crisis and Populism

 

Lecture 1

Dr Kai Arzheimer: Political crisis and populism

Bio: Kai Arzheimer is Professor of German Politics and Political Sociology at the University of Mainz, Germany. He has published widely on voting behaviour, particularly on voting for the radical right in Europe.  

Abstract: In this short lecture, I will try to disentangle the relationship between populist actors and crises. I will start with an attempt to clarify both concepts. Following that, I will show that populists often benefit from events that are not crises in a strict sense but are framed as such. In turn, populist policies may lead to genuine political crises.  

Moderator: Dr Vasiliki Tsagkroni

Bio: Dr Vasiliki (Billy) Tsagkroni is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Politics at the Institute of Political Science, Leiden University. His research interests include far-right parties, populism and radicalisation, political discourse, narratives in times of crisis, political marketing and branding and policy making. 

 

Lecture 2

Dr Neil Robinson: The Russian-Ukrainian war and the changing forms of Russian populism

Bio: Neil Robinson is Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Limerick. His research focusses on Russian and post-communist politics, particularly the political economy of post-communism and post-communist state building. He is the author and editor of books on Russia and comparative politics, including most recently Contemporary Russian Politics (Polity, 2018) and (with Rory Costello, editors) Comparative European politics. Distinctive democracies, common challenges (Oxford University Press, 2020), and has published articles on Russian politics in many journals including Europe-Asia Studies, Review of International Political Economy, International Political Science Review, Russian Politics.

Abstract: ‘Official populism’ developed in Russia in the 2010s to provide a project from Putin’s return to the presidency in 2012. This project centred on a particular relationship that Putin claimed existed between state and people in Russia. It was developed to counter other possible populist projects based on nationalism and/or anti-corruption campaigning. The ‘official populist’ project helped to close the political space in Russia after 2012 but was at risk of failing because it proposed a way of being ‘Russian’ that was dependent on the behaviour of forces and states not under Russian control, namely the former Soviet states, and particularly Ukraine, that Russia wanted to dominate through institutions such as the Eurasian Union. The risk of failure was one factor that helped push Russia to invade Ukraine in 2022. This invasion has opened up space to contest elements of the ‘official populism’ by new actors. The talk will examine some of these and what they might mean for Russia’s political development.

Reading List

Fish, M. Steven (2018) ‘What Has Russia Become?’, Comparative Politics, 50 (3): 327-46

Morris, J. (2022) ‘Russians in Wartime and Defensive Consolidation’, Contemporary History,  121 (837): 258–263.

Putin, V.V. (2021) ‘On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians’, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181

Putin, V.V. (2022) ‘Address by the President of the Russian Federation’ http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843(text and video version)

Reid, A. (2022) ‘Putin’s war on history. The thousand year struggle over Ukraine’, Foreign Affairs (101): 54-63.

Robinson, N. and S. Milne (2017) ‘Populism and political development in hybrid regimes: Russia and the development of official populism’, International Political Science Review, 38 (4), 412-25.

Tipaldou, S., and P. Casula (2019) ‘Russian nationalism shifting: The role of populism since the annexation of Crimea’, Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, 27 (3): 349-70.

Treisman, D. (2022). ‘Putin unbound. How repression at home presaged belligerence abroad’, Foreign Affairs (101): 40-53.

 

Moderator: Marina Zoe Saoulidou

Bio: Marina Zoe Saoulidou is a PhD candidate in Political Science and Public Administration at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). Her thesis focuses on the dynamics of both left- and right-wing populist parties in Europe in the context of economic crises. Marina Zoe is an IKY Scholar (State Scholarships Foundation) and was awarded an NKUA Compensatory Fellowship (teaching assistantship). She is a Junior Research Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), and a member of the Hellenic Society of International Law and International Relations.

 

Day 2: July 4, 2023

Health Crisis and Populism 

 

Lecture 1

Dr Ewen Speed: Health crisis and populism

Bio: Dr Ewen Speed is a Professor of Medical Sociology in the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Essex. He has research interests in health policy, particularly in the context of the NHS. He is also interested in critical approaches to understanding engagement and involvement in healthcare, and in critical approaches to psychology and psychiatry. He is currently an Associate Editor for the journal Critical Public Health. He is also a member of the National Institute of Health Research East of England Applied Research Collaboration, contributing directly to the Inclusive Involvement in Research for Practice Led Health and Social Care theme and is Implementation Lead for this theme.

 

Moderator: Caitlin R. Williams

Bio: Caitlin R. Williams is a PhD candidate and Adjunct Instructor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is also a researcher and advocate whose work centers on scaling and sustaining policies, programs, and practices that advance health, rights, and justice. Meanwhile, she serves as a Research Consultant with the Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria in Buenos Aires, Argentina and a Research Collaborator with the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (Atlanta, GA, USA). Some of her recent projects include validating measures of global policy indicators for maternal health (including abortion access), assessing the threat posed by populist nationalism to human rights-based approaches to health, and analyzing national policies on obstetric violence and respectful maternity care. Caitlin has contributed her expertise to amicus briefs for cases in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, a memo to the U.S. Office of Civil Rights, and a statement to the Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

 

Lecture 2

Dr Gideon Lasco: COVID-19 and the evolving nature of medical populism

Bio: Gideon Lasco, MD, PhD is a physician and medical anthropologist. He is senior lecturer at the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Department of Anthropology, affiliate faculty at the UP College of Medicine’s Social Medicine Unit, research fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University’s Development Studies Program, and honorary fellow at Hong Kong University’s Centre for Criminology. Dr. Lasco’s research projects have focused on contemporary health issues, including drug issues, COVID-19, health systems, and politics of health, and yielded over 50 journal articles and book chapters in the past five years. They have also led to two academic books: Drugs and Philippines Society (Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2021), an edited volume which features critical perspectives on drug use and drug policy in the country, as well as Height Matters, forthcoming monograph on human stature with the University of the Philippines Press. He also maintains a weekly column on health, culture, and national affairs in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, as well as acolumn in SAPIENS, the online anthropology magazine, that focuses on the relationships of humans with other species. 

Abstract: Over 3 years since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous political analyses have extensively documented the ways in which political actors have responded to the health crisis, including the resort of many of them to populist performances. Less established, however, are the ways in which these actors evolve their political styles as the pandemic also evolves politically, socially, and epidemiologically. This presentation reviews and critically engages with the concept of medical populism, its elements of spectacularization, simplification, forging of divisions, as well as the literature on its figurations during the pandemic in different countries. It then (re)applies this concept to major events in the pandemic after the initial responses – e.g. the development of vaccines, the emergence of variants, the debates over whether the pandemic is over. Overall, this longer-term analysis shows that while politicians continue to dramatize their responses, offer simplistic solutions, and divide their publics, these characteristics do not necessarily coexist at a given political moment. Medical populism, then, viewed as a repertoire of styles rather than a fixed set of characteristics.  

Reading List

Lasco, G. (2020). Medical populism and the COVID-19 pandemic. Global public health, 15(10), 1417-1429. 

Moderator: Dr Vassilis Petsinis

Dr Vassilis Petsinis is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary (Institute of Global Studies). He is a political scientist with expertise in European Politics and Ethnopolitics. Dr Petsinis has conducted research and taught at universities and research institutes in Estonia (Tartu University), Germany (Herder Institut in Marburg), Denmark (Copenhagen University), Sweden (Lund University, Malmö University, Södertörns University, and Uppsala University), Hungary (Collegium Budapest/Centre for Advanced Study), Slovakia (Comenius University in Bratislava), Romania (New Europe College), and Serbia (University of Novi Sad). He holds a PhD in Russian & East European Studies from the University of Birmingham (UK).

Respondent: Dr Maria Paula Prates

Dr Maria Paula Prates is a medical anthropologist at the Department of Anthropology at UCL. She is interested in the embodied inequalities of the Anthropocene, specially that concerning Indigenous Women in lowland South America. She has worked with and among the Guaran-Mbyá in the last 20 years. She has ongoing research projects in reproductive justice, encompassing birthing, unconsented episiotomies, sterilization and c-section, and on the imbricated relation between Tuberculosis and environmental degradation. She worked as an Adjunct Professor in Anthropology of Health at UFCSPA, Brazil and moved to the UK in 2018 as a Newton International Fellowship holder awarded by the British Academy and Newton Fund.

 

Day 3: July 5, 2023

Economic Crisis and Populism 

 

Lecture 1

Dr Ibrahim Ozturk: The abuse of the negative repercussions of an unmanaged globalisation in economics by the populists

Bio: Professor Ibrahim Ozturk is a visiting fellow at the University of Duisburg-Essen since 2017. He is studying developmental, institutional, and international economics. His research focuses on the Japanese, Turkish, and Chinese economies. Currently, he is working on emerging hybrid governance models and the rise of populism in the Emerging Market Economies. As a part of that interest, he studies the institutional quality of China’s Modern Silk Road Project /The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its governance model, and implications for the global system. He also teaches courses on business and entrepreneurship in the Emerging Market Economies, such as BRICS/MINT countries. Ozturk’s Ph.D. thesis is on the rise and decline of Japan’s developmental institutions in the post-Second WWII era.

Dr. Ozturk has worked at different public and private universities as both a part-time and full-time lecturer/researcher between 1992-2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. In 1998, he worked as a visiting fellow at Keio University, in Tokyo, and again in 2003 at Tokyo University. He’s also been a visiting fellow at JETRO/AJIKEN (2004); at North American University, in Houston, Texas (2014-2015); and in Duisburg/Germany at the University of Duisburg-Essen (2017-2020).

Dr. Ozturk is one of the founders of the Istanbul Japan Research Association (2003-2013) and the Asian Studies Center of Bosporus University (2010-2013). He has served as a consultant to business associations and companies for many years. He has also been a columnist and TV-commentator. Dr. Ozturk’s native language is Turkish; he is fluent in English, intermediate in German, and lower-intermediate in Japanese. 

Abstract: This seminar aims to introduce the concept of populism in economics in terms of its causes (i.e., globalization, income inequality, financial crisis), its mechanism of execution in economics by the populists (i.e., macroeconomics and institutions of populism), and its consequences. The economic argument for populism is straightforward: poor economic performance feeds dissatisfaction with the status quo. It fosters support for populist alternatives when that poor performance occurs on the watch of mainstream parties. Rising inequality augments the ranks of the left behind, fanning dissatisfaction with economic management. Declining social mobility and a dearth of alternatives reinforce the sense of hopelessness and exclusion. However, unlike the argument they use when they are in opposition, in power, by denying and undermining professional and autonomous institutions, discrediting science and scientific knowledge, and rejecting resource constraints in economics, populists would give even more harm to the people they promised to help.

 

Moderator: Dr Dusan Spasojevic

Bio: Dušan Spasojević is an associate professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade. His main fields of interest are political parties, civil society, populism and the post-communist democratization process. Spasojević is a member of the steering board of the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA) and the editor of Political Perspectives, scientific journal published by FPS Belgrade and Zagreb.

 

Lecture 2

Dr Sergei Guriev: The political economy of populism

Bio: Sergei Guriev, Provost, Sciences Po, Paris, joined Sciences Po as a tenured professor of economics in 2013 after serving as the Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13. In 2016-19, he was on leave from Sciences Po serving as the Chief Economist and the Member of the Executive Committee of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). In 2022, Sergei Guriev was appointed Sciences Po’s Provost. Professor Guriev’s research interests include political economics, development economics, labor mobility, and contract theory. Professor Guriev is also a member of the Executive Committee of the International Economic Association and a Global Member of the Trilateral Commission. He is also a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research, London. He is a Senior Member of the Institut Universitaire de France, an Ordinary Member of Academia Europeae, and an Honorary Foreign Member of the American Economic Association. 

Abstract: We synthesize the literature on the recent rise of populism. First, we discuss definitions and present descriptive evidence on the recent increase in support for populists. Second, we cover the historical evolution of populist regimes since the late nineteenth century. Third, we discuss the role of secular economic factors related to cross-border trade andautomation. Fourth, we review studies on the role of the 2008–09 global financial crisis and subsequent austerity, connect them to historical work covering the Great Depression, and discuss likely mechanisms. Fifth, we discuss studies onidentity politics, trust, and cultural backlash. Sixth, we discuss economic and cultural consequences of growth in immigration and the recent refugee crisis. We also discuss the gap between perceptions and reality regarding immigration. Seventh, we review studies on the impact of the internet and social media. Eighth, we discuss the literatureon the implications of populism’s recent rise.

Reading List

Guriev, S., Melnikov, N., & Zhuravskaya, E. (2021). 3g internet and confidence in government. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 136(4), 2533-2613.  

Guriev, S., & Papaioannou, E. (2022). The political economy of populism. Journal of Economic Literature, 60(3), 753-832. 

Henry, E., Zhuravskaya, E., & Guriev, S. (2022). Checking and sharing alt-facts. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 14(3), 55-86. 

 

Moderator: Afonso Biscaia

Bio: Afonso Biscaia is a PhD student in Comparative Politics at the Instituto de Ciencias Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa. Afonso’s research focuses on digital political communication and right wing populism. His published work includes “Placing the Portuguese Radical Right-Wing Populist Chega Into Context: Political Communication and Links to French, Italian, and Spanish Right-Wing Populist Actors” (2022), and The Russia-Ukraine War and the Far Right in Portugal: Minimal Impacts on the Rising Populist Chega Party”, both in co-authorship with Susana Salgado. 

 

Day 4: July 6, 2023

Environment, Religion and Populism

 

Lecture 1

Dr Heidi Hart: Populism and environmental crisis – From denial to the new deep ecology

Bio: Heidi Hart, a senior researcher at the ECPS and Linnaeus University (Sweden), is a researcher and educator based in the US and Scandinavia. She holds a Ph.D. in German Studies from Duke University and focuses on intersections of the arts and politics, including environmental crisis. She is currently a guest researcher at SixtyEight Art Institute in Copenhagen, where she has contributed curatorial work on climate art, and at the Linnaeus University Center for Intermedial and Multimodal Studies, where she is completing the research project “Instruments of Repair.” 

Abstract: This talk provides an overview of the various populist strains of engagement with environmental crises. Beginning with pro-business climate denialism and moving to the surprising overlap between left and far-right ecological activism in Europe, I will show how these strains are not limited to one ideological viewpoint. Examples of nationalist, agrarian, nativist, traditionalist, and protectionist viewpoints will fill this discussion with a common thread of fear-based thinking. Examples of left-wing environmental populism further complicate the picture but arise from a more critical position. I will then trace the history of illiberal environmentalism through the Nazi period in Germany to contemporary appropriations of “deep ecology,” with several examples from popular culture that make this ideology more appealing than it might at first appear. Finally, I will invite all to discuss the Malthusian temptations implicit in wishing for a cleaner, less crowded, more protected planet.  

Reading List

Buzogány, A., Mohamad-Klotzbach, C. (2022). Environmental Populism. In Oswald, M. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Populism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80803-7_19 

François, S., Nonjon, A. (2021). “Identitarian Ecology”: The Far Right’s Reinterpretation of Environmental Concerns. Illiberal Studies Program, 1 February 2021, https://www.illiberalism.org/identitarian-ecology-rights-reinterpretation-environmental-concerns/ 

Leigh, A. (2021). How Populism Imperils the Planet. The MIT Press Reader, 5 November 2021,https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-populism-imperils-the-planet/ 

Marquardt, J., Lederer, M. (2022) Politicizing climate change in times of populism: an introduction. Environmental Politics, 31:5, 735-754, DOI: 10.1080/09644016.2022.2083478 

Ofstehage, A. et al. (2022). Contemporary Populism and the Environment. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 47, 671-696, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012220-124635 

Serhan, Y. (2021). The Far-Right View on Climate Politics. The Atlantic, 10 August 2021,https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/08/far-right-view-climate-ipcc/619709/ 

 

Moderator: Dr João Ferreira Dias

Bio: João Ferreira Dias holds a Ph.D. in African Studies from ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (2016). He is a researcher at the International Studies Centre of ISCTE (CEI-ISCTE) in the research group Democracy, Activism, and Citizenship. He is also an associate researcher at the History Centre of the University of Lisbon and a member of the research network of the European Center for Populism Studies. He is a regular columnist in leading newspapers of the Portuguese press. His areas of research and interest are: Religious Anthropology (Yorùbá, Candomblé, Umbanda, rituals, thought patterns, politics of memory and authenticity), Political Science (culture wars, identity politics, nostalgia and politics of memory and nationalism, populism) and Constitutional Law (Constitutional Principles, Fundamental Rights, Religious Freedom). 

 

Lecture 2

Dr Jocelyn Cesari: Why religious nationalism is not populism 

Bio: Dr Jocelyn Cesari holds the Chair of Religion and Politics at the University of Birmingham (UK) and is Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University. Since 2018, she is the T. J. Dermot Dunphy Visiting Professor of Religion, Violence, and Peacebuilding at Harvard Divinity School. President-elect of the European Academy of Religion (2018-19), her work on religion and politics has garnered recognition and awards: 2020 Distinguished Scholar of the religion section of the International Studies Association, Distinguished Fellow of the Carnegie Council for Ethics and International Affairs and the Royal Society for Arts in the United Kingdom. Her new book: We God’s Nations: Political Christianity, Islam and Hinduism in the World of Nations, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2022 (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/we-gods-people/314FFEF57671C91BBA7E169D2A7DA223). Other publications: What is Political Islam? (Rienner, 2018, Book Award 2019 of the religion section of the ISA); Islam, Gender and Democracy in a Comparative Perspective (OUP, 2017), The Awakening of Muslim Democracy: Religion, Modernity and the State (CUP, 2014). She is the academic advisor of www.euro-islam.info

Abstract: The lecture will offer an ideal type of the relations between religion and populism to show the difference between religious nationalism and populism; highlight the importance political history and secular cultures on the political role of religion in any given country; and include the international and transnational religious forms of populism.

Reading List

“Populism and religion: an intricate and varying relationship” by Christopher Beuter, Matthias Kortmann, Laura Karoline Nette and Kathrin Rucktäschel (pdf attached) https://forum.newsweek.com/profile/Jocelyne-Cesari-Professor-Religion-Politics-Georgetown-University-and-Harvard-University/37c1d797-c04c-4b41-9aef-8bdd4479d0de

 

Moderator: Dr Jogile Ulinskaite

Bio: Jogilė Ulinskaitė is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University. She defended her PhD thesis on the populist conception of political representation in Lithuania. Since then, she has been part of a research team that studies the collective memory of the communist and post-communist past in Lithuania. As a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University in 2022, she focused on the reconstruction of emotional narratives of post-communist transformation from oral history interviews. Her current research integrates memory studies, narrative analysis, and the sociology of emotions to analyse the discourse of populist politicians.

 

Day 5: July 7, 2023

Culture, Crisis and Populism 

 

Lecture 1

Dr Nonna Mayer: Cultural explanations of right- wing populism… and beyond

Bio: Dr Nonna Mayer is CNRS Research Director Emerita at the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics of Sciences Po, former chair of the French Political Science Association 2005-2016), member of the National Consultative Commission for Human Rights (since 2016), co-PI of its annual Racism Barometer. Her current fields of expertise are electoral sociology, radical right populism, racism and anti-Semitism, intercultural relations.  

Abstract: Taking the French case as an example,  this presentation revisits and nuances the explanations of right wing populism in terms of “cultural backlash” and “cultural insecurity.” Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour both frame immigration as a deadly threat to French identity and values, nativist attitudes are the main driver of their voters. While anti feminism and sexism drive male votes for Zemmour, but not for Le Pen. However cultural  factors are tightly  mixed with social and economic factors.  

 

Moderator: Dr Sorina Soare

Bio: Dr Sorina Soare is a lecturer of Comparative Politics at the University of Florence. She holds a PhD in political science from the Université libre de Bruxelles and has previously studied political science at the University of Bucharest. Before coming to Florence, S. Soare obtained funding from the Wiener Anspach foundation for 1 year Post-Ph Programme in St. Antony’s College, Oxford University. Her work has been published in Democratization, East European Politics, etc. She taught at the Central University of Budapest, Université libre de Bruxelles, University of Palermo and University of Bucharest. She works in the area of comparative politics. Her research interests lie primarily in the field of post-communist political parties and party systems, democratisation and institutional development.

 

Lecture 2

Dr John M. Meyer: The ambiguous promise of climate populism

Bio: Dr John M. Meyer is Professor in the Department of Politics at Cal Poly Humboldt, on California’s North Coast. He also serves in interdisciplinary programs on Environmental Studies and Environment & Community. As a political theorist, his work aims to help us understand how our social and political values and institutions shape our relationship with “the environment,” how these values and institutions are shaped by this relationship, and how we might use an understanding of both to pursue a more socially just and sustainable society. His current project explores the intersection between climate politics and the political potentials and dangers of populism. Meyer is the author or editor of seven books. These include the award-winning Engaging the Everyday: Environmental Social Criticism and the Resonance Dilemma (MIT, 2015) and The Oxford Handbook of Environmental Political Theory (Oxford, 2016). He is editor-in-chief of the international journal, Environmental Politics

Abstract: The entanglements of climate change politics with populism are beginning to receive the attention they deserve. Many have argued that an exclusionary conception of “the people” and a critical account of scientific expertise make populism a fundamental threat to effective action to address climate change. While this threat can be real, I argue that it can also mislead us into reaffirming trust in mainstream political actors as a viable alternative. Instead, I explore opportunities for effective climate change action to be found in a more encompassing conception of populism, one rooted in an inclusive conception of “the people,” and an embrace of counter-expertise grounded in local knowledge of climate vulnerability and injustice.

Reading List 

John M. Meyer, Power and Truth in Science-Related Populism: Rethinking the Role of Knowledge and Expertise in Climate Politics, Political Studies, 2023.

John M. Meyer, ‘The People’ and Climate Justice: Rethinking Populism and Pluralism within Climate Politics, DRAFT.  

Kai Bosworth, Pipeline Populism: Grassroots Environmentalism in the Twenty-First Century, University of Minnesota Press, 2022. 

Aron Buzogány and Christoph Mohamad-Klotzbach, Environmental Populism, The Palgrave Handbook of Populism, 2022. 

Will Davies, Green Populism?—Action and mortality in the Anthropocene, Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, 2019. 

Shane Gunster, Darren Fleet, Robert Neubauer, Challenging Petro-Nationalism: Another Canada Is Possible? Journal of Canadian Studies, Winter 2021. 

Amanda Machin and Oliver Wagener, The Nature of Green Populism?, European Green Journal, 2019. 

Jane Mansbridge and Stephen Macedo, Populism and Democratic Theory, Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 2019. 

Jens Marquardt and Markus Lederer, eds., Operating at the Frontiers of Democracy? Mitigating climate change in times of populism, special issue, Environmental Politics, 2022.  

Chantal Mouffe, Toward a Green Democratic Revolution, Verso, 2022. (excerpt here

 

Moderator: Dr Tsveta Petrova

Bio: Dr Tsveta Petrova is a Lecturer in the Discipline of Political Science at Columbia University. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Cornell University in 2011 and then held post-doctoral positions at Harvard University and Columbia University. Her research focuses on democracy, democratization, and democracy promotion. Dr. Petrova’s book on democracy export by new democracies, From Solidarity to Geopolitics, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2014 and her articles have appeared in Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Democracy, Government and Opposition, Europe-Asia Studies, East European Politics & Societies, Review of International Affairs, and Foreign Policy among others. Her research has been supported by the European Commission, the US Social Science Research Council, American Council of Learned Societies, National Council for Eurasian and East European Research, Council for European Studies, Smith Richardson Foundation, and IREX. She further serves a Series Editor for the Memory Politics and Transitional Justice collection at Palgrave-Mcmillan as well as a Scholar with the Rising Democracies Network at the Carnegie Endowment and an Advisor to the Nations in Transit Program at the Freedom House.




Literature Review on Populism and Crises

 By Anita Tusor

Populism usually occurs within a crisis scenario (Laclau, 1977: 175); however, crises vary in their nature and thus have several consequences and effects, affecting populist parties differently. This literature review aims to briefly showcase how different crises have affected populist parties. We have decided to merge UNDP’s Human Security Framework (1994) and combine its seven interdependent pillars into five fields to obtain a comprehensive selection on the different possible crises. The resulting fields have been populism and political crises, populism and health crises, populism and environmental crises, populism and economic crises, and populism and cultural crises.

Political Crisis and War 

One of the main causes behind the recent rise of populism across the world has to do with the shortcomings of democracy, as can be observed in a constant weakening of traditional party identities and changing party functions (Kriesi & Pappas, 2015; Mair, 2002). This political crisis, according to Caiani and Graziano (2019) and Kriesi (2018), has reinvigorated populist actors all across the world, who have used it as an opportunity to channel popular discontent and turn it into electoral success. Furthermore, some authors have argued that rather than just triggering populist actors, populism frequently aims to act as a trigger for crisis and actively participate in the “spectacularization of failure” that underlies such crises, allowing them to pit the people against a dangerous other (Stavrakakis et al., 2017; Moffitt, 2015). So, to act as a trigger for a crisis, populist parties usually follow six major steps that are aimed at elevating a simple failure to the level of crisis and through which they also seek to divide the people from those who are responsible (Moffitt, 2015). According to Moffitt, these six major steps are (1) identity failure, which consists of choosing a particular failure and bring attention to it as a matter of urgency; (2) elevate to the level of crisis by linking into a wider framework and adding a temporal dimension, which is the act of linking the already chosen failure with other failures, locating it within a wider structural or moral framework in an attempt to make such failure to seem symptomatic of a wider problem; (3) frame the people against those responsible for the crisis, which consists of identifying those who are responsible for the crisis, and setting them against the so-called “people,” demonizing them and providing populist parties with an enemy to overcome and allowing them, first, to portray the so-alleged responsible for the crisis as a chronic problem and cause of every crisis, and, second, to offer populist parties a seemingly objective rationale for targeting their enemies, beyond outright discrimination; (4) use media to propagate performance, which is used by populist actors to disseminate and perpetuate a continuing sense of crisis; (5) present simple solutions and strong leadership, which refers to the presentation of themselves, through performative methods -such as portraying other political actors as incompetent and weak, offering simple answers for the crisis, and advocating the simplification of political institutions and processes-, as the only plausible alternative to solve the crisis; and (6) continue to propagate the crisis, which consists of the populist constant switch of the notion of crisis in order to overcome the unavoidable loss of interest by the population.

Lastly, the war in Ukraine has had a significant impact on Kremlin-backed populist parties, which have been forced to shift their positions from expressing support for Putin’s Russia to showing strong support for Ukraine to maintain their legitimacy in their respective countries (Albertazzi et al., 2022; Leonard, 2022). Notable among these Kremlin-supported populist parties are Lega, VOX, FN, and FPÖ, among others, as highlighted by Weiss (2020). The war has also led to the strengthening of mainstream pro-democratic parties, which have seen electoral successes as a result (Leonard, 2022; Pearce, 2022); however, the war has also had negative impacts on European economies and societies, which is expected to lead to dissatisfaction and distrust in democratic institutions, leading to a context that has already been beneficial for populist parties in the past, as they have been able to use sources of frustration to gain popular support (Docquier et al., 2022). Therefore, it can be assumed that European populist parties may adapt to this new context and use these sources again to gain popular support (Legrain, 2022). However, the literature on this topic is still limited. Furthermore, Farrell (2022) argues that the War in Ukraine may be actually benefiting populist radical right parties across European countries since it has put the raison d’être of such parties -the defense of the nation-state and national sovereignty- back at the top of the political agenda. This claim is supported by recent events, such as the victories of Hungary’s, Serbia’s, Sweden’s, and Italy’s radical right populist leaders, as well as in the increasing support for populist radical right leaders such as Marine Le Pen (Lika, 2022).

Health Crisis 

Health crisis refers to a situation that poses a significant threat to public health, either in a specific location or globally. It can arise from a variety of causes, including disease outbreaks, natural disasters, environmental disasters, or other public health emergencies. Most recent examples of health crises challenging governments include the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and the Zika virus epidemic. These crises had a profound impact on individuals, communities, and entire populations, and required a coordinated response from governments, public health organizations, and other stakeholders to address the immediate and long-term effects.

As with other crises, populist may look at a health crisis as a “window of opportunity” and utilize it as a way to rally public support by presenting themselves as champions of the people and promoting policies that they claim will protect citizens from the perceived threat (Caiani & Graziano, 2019). However, although populist politicians are excellent at identifying problems and thematizing public discourse at times of crisis, they may be less successful at addressing them.

Populism can sometimes itself contribute to health crises by promoting distrust of scientific and medical experts, as well as government institutions responsible for public health; and by polarizing the political discussion about public health policies, along with underrating and undervaluing public service work. Moreover, populist leaders may downplay the severity of a medical crisis or spread misinformation, leading people to ignore public health guidelines or refuse to follow vaccination programs, which then exacerbate the spread of a disease and prolong the duration of a crisis. Moffit (2015: 195) reminds us that “populist actors actively perform and perpetuate a sense of crisis, rather than simply reacting to external crisis.” They pit the ordinary/true people against the elites, who in this case can be doctors and scientists as well, not exclusively the political establishment (Schwörer & Fernández-García 2022). In the case of Mexican populism, measures taken by “the Mexican populist government were based on negative beliefs towards expert scientific knowledge from outside the government; a disinterest in searching for more information from distant or unfamiliar sources” (Renteria & Arellano-Gault, 2021: 180), and to tackle the upcoming economic crisis, the primary approach would involve bolstering the core programs. 

Summarizing the administrative steps and policies of populists during a health crisis, Lasco (2020) coined the term ‘medical populism’ which can be defined as a political style that centers on public health crises and creates a division between “the people” and “the establishment.” Medical populism has 4 main features: (1) downplaying of the pandemic, (2) dramatization or spectacularization of the crisis, (3) polarization of society where the ‘others’ include pharmaceutical companies, supranational bodies (WHO), the ‘medical establishment’ (i.e. ‘vertical divisions’) or ‘dangerous others’ like migrants that can be blamed for the crisis and cast as sources of contagion (i.e. ‘horizontal divisions’) and (4) making knowledge claims which included the spread of disinformation (Ibid.: 1418-1419). In most countries, “populist leaders have monopolized on discontent with COVID-19 policies and related conspiracy beliefs” (Eberl et al., 2021: 284) as well as created ‘populist tropes’ of testing and “shaped knowledge of the epidemic” to garner support (Hedges & Lasco, 2021: 83).

In some cases, populist could also block the coordination of a global response as they oftentimes prioritize national interests over global ones (Spilimbergo, 2021), leading to delays in sharing information and resources that are necessary to combat the crisis effectively. Cepaluni and colleagues (2021: 1) found that – although earlier research demonstrated that “more democratic countries suffered greater COVID-19 deaths per capita and implemented policy measures that were less effective at reducing deaths than less democratic countries in the early stages of the pandemic” –  at the end, populism were associated “with a greater COVID-19 death toll per capita, although the deleterious effect of populism is weaker in relatively more democratic states.” Fernandes and de Almeida Lopes Fernandes (2022) identified strong evidence of link between poor response to the pandemic and right-wing populism in Brazil, where Jair Bolsonaro was one of the most prominent denialists of the effects of the global health crisis. Furthermore, there is also a correlation between relying on social media as the primary means of obtaining information, voting for populists and being more receptive to misinformation, including conspiracy theories (Ferreira, 2021). 

Times of crisis exacerbate some of the above-mentioned effects. In addition, asking the questions, why some citizens ignore common logic, scientific results and medical advice, Eberl et al. (2021: 272) demonstrated a “positive relationship of populist attitudes and conspiracy beliefs, above and beyond political ideology.” Despite this, some state that there is no clear evidence that populists systematically mismanaged the pandemic (Spilimbergo, 2021), although the pandemic is still ongoing as of March 2023 according to the WHO. Further evaluation of the management of the Covid-19 health crisis by populist forces therefore must wait.

Focusing on the first years of the pandemic, Kavakli (2020) observed slower reaction to the pandemic by populist and economically right-wing governments. These administrations were also more likely implementing fewer health measures and required no or limited social isolation compliance due to the lack of trust in health care professionals and scientists. The uncertainties communicated in expert messaging at the wake of the pandemic has reflected the realities of the learning process among medical professionals, nonetheless the lack of clarity deepened public anxiety and distrust in the competence of officials and redoubled feelings of being left behind and alone among voters at a time when people’s need for competent elites were heightened (Csergő, 2021). This then has been exploited by populists who challenged what counts as credible knowledge. Right-wing populists have attracted the most skeptical segment of the general public and mobilized masses against ‘science-driven’ measures. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has even decided to withdraw from the WHO questioning the credibility of the organization. This disengagement from WHO was a divisive decision: According to Panizza (2005), if populism serves as a reflection of democratic institutions, then it is also true for global governance organizations such as the WHO, as argued by Reddy et al. (2018). However, Mazzeloni and Ivaldi found that “right-wing populist voters were more likely to prioritize health over the economy, and that this was very significant among those voting for Trump in the US, Alternative für Deutschland in Germany, Lega and Fratelli d’Italia in Italy, and the SVP in Switzerland.” Therefore, withdrawal from the WHO amid the pandemic seems like a surprising choice.

One of the central questions of the literature is investigating the question of whether the Covid-19 pandemic has strengthened or weakened the discursive opportunities of populist political parties. Schwörer and Fernández-García (2022) argue the latter but indicate that populist radical right parties (PRRP) “are able to electorally survive a pandemic that does not deliver favorable nativist discourses opportunities by emphasizing their populist profile and blaming elites without references to immigration” (no pagination). Their manual content analysis of Twitter discourses of populist radical right parties (PRRP) from 6 West European country found that as nativist messages become restricted with PRRP’s growing support against restrictions (post first wave); they started “using anti-elitist demonizing discourses against the national government accusing it of abolishing democracy and undermining freedom” (no pagination). By this reframing, PRRPs positioned the health crisis as a domestic political crisis instead of an international one. Some presidents and prime ministers went as far as using war metaphors such as ‘fighting the virus’, ‘defeating the virus’ or ‘the war against the virus’ (Ajzenman et al., 2020; Wodak, 2022). This discourse strategy was adopted by French president Emmanuel Macron and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán among others, although the former tried to justify strict measures by this rhetoric, while the latter aimed to fight panic and instrumentalize the crisis to further undermine Hungarian democracy.

Amid the health crisis, authoritarian orientation of populist parties in place has become evident. In line with the theory, in-group threat is central to an authoritarian attitude (Feldmann & Stenner, 1997; Adorno et al. 2019), research conducted during the pandemic has found that voters associated with right-wing authoritarian views and ethnocentric, prejudicial attitudes become more nationalistic and anti-immigrant as levels of anxiety grow generated by the perceived threat of a virus (Hartman et al., 2021: 1282).

As Spilimbergo (2021) and Eberl et al. (2021) states, the pandemic did not kill populism, it might have weakened support for it, but post-pandemic issues – fueled by economic insecurity – may lead to yet another surge of populist support among voters. Biancalana and colleagues (2021) had come to a similar conclusion after examining the emerging literature on the relationship between populism and health crisis. On the contrary, Guliano and Hubé (2021) analyzed 8 European countries in the context of the pandemic and found that the health crisis has only benefited populist parties in office (who sustained or significantly improved their primacy, while hindered their prospects in opposition. Either way, populism will stay with us.

Environmental Crisis 

The escalating environmental crisis has prompted a wide range of groups, organizations, and political parties to devise innovative strategies to address this global predicament. Eco-populist actors, organizations, and parties are playing a crucial role in demanding systemic change and attempting to overhaul the exploitative capitalist system, identified as a primary cause of the climate crisis due to its constant Greenhouse Gas emissions and exploitation of natural resources (IPCC, 2022; Torres-Wong, 2019). Such actors range from left-wing organizations, associations, indigenous groups, and NGOs to far-right political parties and right-wing extremist armed militias (see Middeldorp & Le Billon, 2019; Haggerty, 2007; Wittmer & Birner, 2005), which have seen the current climate crisis as an opportunity to gain broader support and impose their nativist ideas. In fact, there are several far-right and Populist Radical Right Parties that have renewed their interest in environmental issues, thus integrating ecological stances in their agendas ultimately aimed at promoting their nationalist views (Lubarda, 2022; Forchtner & Kølvraa, 2015).

Hence, populist parties approach the ongoing climate crisis in different ways, depending on their ideology and political agenda. Right-wing populists around the world have seriously challenged the narrative of climate change as a global challenge that rests on complex interdependencies, accumulated greenhouse gas emissions, and a threat to the world population as a whole, as could have been observed in national leaders like Donald Trump, Rodrigo Duterte, and Jair Bolsonaro, who led mobilizations against climate change mitigation efforts (Marquardt & Lederer, 2022). Nonetheless, as above-mentioned, other far-right and Populist Radical Right Parties have adopted different approaches to the ongoing climate crisis, such as the Front National’s approach of “patriotic ecology,” which aims to protect the French people, culture, and environment from climate change, pollution, and resource depletion by emphasizing French natural resources and national identity, but ultimately masks nativist and Eurosceptic policies; the United Kingdom Independence Party’s (UKIP) approach to the British countryside by politicizing the environmental debate and blaming the European Union, overpopulation, and immigration for its deterioration; or the Czech far-right’s discourse on the environment, which criticizes eco-terrorism and evokes a spiritual and nativist Czech environment (Boukala & Tountasaki, 2020; Tarant, 2020; Turner-Graham, 2020; Forchtner & Kølvraa, 2015).

On the other hand, populist parties on the left may adopt a progressive stance, and argue that the crisis is caused by the capitalist system and the exploitation of workers and natural resources by the rich and powerful elites, claiming that the climate crisis disproportionately affects marginalized communities and advocating for more redistributive and egalitarian policies to address it, as can be observed in Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa but also civil society groups like the climate justice movement, Fridays for Future or Extinction Rebellion, that have popularized progressive action on climate change through unconventional modes of protest, disruptive arguments, and demands for systemic change (Scherhaufer et al., 2021; Brünker et al., 2019; Kingsbury et al. 2019, Figueres et al., 2017). 

In sum, how populist actors tackle the ongoing environmental crisis vary in relation to their agenda and their ideological interests; while right-wing populist actors may either embrace skepticism and denial or address the issue through the implementation of nativist and protectionist policies, left-wing populist actors and parties usually opt for the design and execution of more redistributive policies that approach the problem from a more systemic perspective. 

Economic Crisis 

The vast majority of the current literature focuses on the whys and wherefores rather than the effects and impacts of populism, seeking to assess whether the rise of populism is best seen as driven by economic or cultural factors, perhaps both (Iversen & Soskice, 2019; Rooduijn & Burgoon, 2018). In the next section, cultural backlash theory (Inglehart & Norris, 2016: 30) is discussed in detail, therefore, here we focus more on the explanation of economic materialists who identify economic insecurities as the cause of populism such as financial crises, austerity and harsh economic measures, a pushback against neoliberalism and globalization (Rodrik 2018, Snegovaya 2018). 

Economic insecurity as a driver of populism has been investigated extensively following the 2008-euro crisis (Margalit, 2019). Research investigated the developments which eroded voters’ trust in the political system and led those on the losing side to opt for populist parties, to have a break from the status quo and offer seemingly appealing solutions to voters’ economic malaise – be it trade protectionism, building a border wall, or exiting the EU. Sonno et al. (2022) examined the impact of the financial crisis on the middle class suggesting that “financial crisis broadened the pool of disappointed voters, prompting, on the supply side, political parties to enter the political arena with platforms giving the disillusioned voters a new hope for simple and monitorable protection.” 

Guiso and others (2017) studied the demand for and supply of populism, both empirically and theoretically. They document a link between individual-level economic insecurity and distrust toward political parties, voting for populist parties, and low electoral participation. Economic crises are generally known to create a sense of dissatisfaction and disillusionment among citizens. In some cases, it can also create a power vacuum or a sense of uncertainty that allows populist politicians to gain more influence or even come to power. This can be seen in some recent examples of populism, such as the rise of far-right parties in Europe in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008 or the 2015 immigration crisis in Europe. As we could see, populist politicians were able to take advantage of voters’ dissatisfaction by tapping into people’s fears and offering simple nationalist solutions to complex socio-economic problems. Some specifically investigated (Beck, Saka & Volpin, 2020) why the right-wing populist parties were the ones that disproportionately benefit from crises. Populists often blamed specific groups, such as immigrants or wealthy elites, for the economic woes, or/and promised to restore jobs and prosperity through policies that may not be feasible or sustainable (Moffit, 2015).

While populist movements can offer temporary relief for those affected by economic crises, there are concerns about the long-term consequences of populism since the economic policies of right-wing populists can be controversial and have been subject to criticism from economists and other commentators. Populist leaders often promote protectionist economic policies that can harm international trade and cooperation, leading to further economic uncertainty, while their proposed tax cuts may disproportionately benefit the wealthy. Additionally, some argue that anti-immigration policies can harm the economy by reducing the size of the labour force and limiting opportunities for growth. Classical macroeconomic populism – for instance – has typically been crisis-prone and ultimately unsustainable (Kaufman & Stallings, 1991). Furthermore, populist movements often promote simplistic solutions to complex problems, leading to policy decisions that may exacerbate economic crises rather than resolve them.

According to ‘relative deprivation’ theories, economic hardships are the main causes of populist attitudes (Guiso et al., 2017: 4). Poverty – exacerbated by a crisis – is often linked with support for authoritarianism. Neerdaels and his colleagues (2022) found that “shame and exclusion from society lead to increased support for authoritarianism […] because authoritarian leaders and regimes promise a sense of social re-inclusion through their emphasis on strong social cohesion and conformity” (Hedrih 2023). Consequently, alleviating economic hardships above a certain level is not always beneficial for populist political parties. In addition, authoritarian populist policies and capturing the media might have a higher explanatory power in how populist came in power during or after a crisis. Salgado et al. (2021) investigated the junction between populism and economic crisis (Euro Crisis) and hypothesized that media coverage and the communicative and rhetorical aspects of populism are the key reasons for its allure, not the level of how the economic crisis did impact national politics (Ibid: 574).

Economic crisis facilitates populism and reinforces the division between the winners and the losers of globalization (Kriesi & Pappas, 2015), however there are findings countering these statements (Lisi et al., 2019). Examination of populist rhetoric amid economic downturn (Ibid.) in the new democracies of Southern Europe (Greece, Portugal, Spain) has proved that the economic crisis has impacted the party system on all levels, but Lisi et al. (2019: 1288) also argues that “The key factors that are likely to favor the emergence or predominance of inclusionary rather than exclusionary populism in the aftermath of an economic crisis can be argued to lie in high levels of crisis intensity, in the retrenchment of welfare states in the face of economic crisis, and in the lack of partisan programmatic responsiveness. On the other hand, exclusionary populism, which is mostly associated with transformations taking place in the cultural and symbolic dimensions, is more likely to emerge when the salience of immigration increases, and mainstream right-wing parties do not politicize or give priority to xenophobic public preferences.”

Consequently, economic, and cultural crises “have a differential impact on the emergence and consolidation of populist parties – the former are more relevant for inclusionary populist parties, the latter are more conducive to the success of exclusionary populist parties” (Caiani & Graziano, 2019: 1153). 

In conclusion, as Margalit (2019) contended, the economic-centric accounts are likely to overstate the role of economic insecurity as an explanation of the rise of populism. The author argues that the financial crisis contributed to the populist wave but views the crisis as more of a trigger than a root cause of widespread populist support. Similarly, while immigration is often a major concern of populist voters, treating it as an economic driver of populism is misguided (Hainmueller et al., 2015; Bansak et al., 2017; Hainmueller & Hopkins, 2014).

The rise of populism cannot be explained alone with the impact of the economic crisis. Other crises, namely political and cultural/moral, play a crucial role in the populist upswing as well. These crises reinforce and may interact with each other (Kriesi, 2018: 16). Caiani & Graziano (2019: 1141) found that “although the economic crisis has without any doubt provided a specific ‘window of opportunity’ for the emergence of new political actors, which have capitalized on citizens’ discontent, long-lasting political factors – such as the increasing distrust toward political institutions and parties – and the more recent cultural crisis connected with migration issues have offered further fertile ground for the consolidation of populist parties in several European countries.” The authors also posit that “the success of populist parties depend on the capacity to ‘politicize’ crises in terms of a need to rescue the ‘pure’ people from a greedy and corrupt elite” (Ibid., 2019: 1144).

In Greece, subsequent to the eruption of the economic crisis, both left-wing and right-wing populist parties could capitalize on the moment and increase their electoral support. Response to the economic crisis was expressed through the narratives of all political actors and observed across the party system. However, what happened in Athens in 2009, it was not only a crisis of economy, but overall, a crisis of democracy and political representation as well (Halikiopoulou, 2020). “This suggests that the rise of the Golden Dawn is closely related to the breakdown of political trust, good governance and the perceived efficacy of the state” (Ibid.).

As we can see, in identification of the relation between populism and economic crisis, one section of the literature aims to define populism and identify its causes, as well as models that explain how economic crises can fuel the rise of populist movements. Some of the most influential theories in this area include the concept of “populist mobilization” and the idea that economic crises create a “window of opportunity” for populist politicians to exploit. In contrast, others may examine the policy responses to economic crises and their impact on the development of populist movements by assessing the effectiveness of policy measures, such as austerity measures or stimulus programs, in addressing the root causes of the crisis and mitigating the rise of populism. Populist parties jumped to the front of the line to reject or shape the economic policies of neoliberalism. Ivaldi and Mazzeloni (2019: 202) noted that “the economic supply of radical right populist parties is best characterized by a mix of economic populism and sovereigntism.” This is exemplified by the unique political economic model of populists in power (See Poland, Hungary and Serbia).

Although the literature on the economic policies associated with contemporary populism (See Bartha et al., 2020; Markowski, 2019; Orenstein & Bugarič, 2020; Toplišek, 2020) is slowly growing; it is often discussed in the frame of causes of populist surge and does not dive deep into the new, viable illiberal economic policy model of populism, which may prove to be resilient in face of harsh economic environment (Feldmann & Popa, 2022: 236). The political economy of populism is described as the following by Orenstein and Bugaric who believe that populism arose due to both cultural and economic reasons, especially in Central- and Eastern European context: “After the global financial crisis, populist parties began to break from the (neo)liberal consensus, ‘thickening’ their populist agenda to include an economic program based on a conservative developmental statism” (Orenstein and Bugaric, 2020: 176). Feldmann and Popa’s research (2022) builds on the findings of this paper and calls for more research of the unorthodox economic model of populists.

Cultural Crisis

Cultural studies have been heavily influenced by the latest wave of populism (Moran & Littler, 2020). One major change in how we think about the intersection of culture, politics and economics occurred in 1992 when the publication of Jim McGuigan’s titled Cultural Populism came out. His book critically analyzed the ways in which popular culture functions as a source of resistance and as a means of ideological control, while he focused on (popular) culture (sport, television, film, pop music) outside of high culture (classical arts) – a popular instrument for authoritarian populism. He argued that cultural populism is a response to the growing sense of disaffection and frustration among people with the traditional political establishment, and that cultural populism offers a way for people to reclaim power and agency through cultural means. Valdivia (2020: 105) – in questioning of Mudde’s notion of populism – even states that “populism is a cultural narrative more than a thin-centered ideology.” In sum, cultural populism marks the emergence of a political frontier around cultural issues and crises.

The latter refers to a situation in which the values, norms, and beliefs of a society are being called into question. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as rapid social or economic changes, the impact of globalization and technological advancement, immigration (the mixing of different cultures), or political upheaval, which can challenge established norms and ways of life or can lead to a sense of cultural displacement and loss of identity among certain groups of people. During a cultural crisis, the basic assumptions and shared understandings that hold a society together are called into question, leading to feelings of uncertainty and anxiety among members of the society. It can manifest in different ways, such as a loss of trust in institutions, a decline in traditional values, a rise in extremism, or a fragmentation of society, which can then lead to the rise of populism and new-old cultural values, which are “usually combining anti-elite and anti-immigrant nationalism with nationally and locally bounded demands for social justice” (Palonen et al., 2018: 12), as people may turn to leaders who promise to restore traditional values and return society to a perceived past golden era.

This idea is repeated in Inglehart and Norris’ (2016, 30) concept of ‘cultural backlash’ which argues that “the rise of populist political parties reflects, above all, a reaction against a wide range of rapid cultural changes that seem to be eroding the basic values and customs of Western societies.” In this idea, traditional cultural values and attitudes are making a comeback in response to the increasing secularization and liberalization of societies as people, who perceive their social status as declining, are pushing back against the changes and express support for more traditional, conservative cultural norms and values (Bornschier & Kriesi, 2013).

In the 21st century, one of the first elected political leaders who breached modern liberal democracy and created an authoritarian regime that enjoys popular support by making empty populist promises and exploiting the political short-sightedness of ordinary people was Vladimir Putin. Natalia Mamonova (2019: 591) argues that in rural Russia, the supporters of authoritarian populism, often referred to as ‘the silent majority’, does approve of the president and Putin’s traditionalist authoritarian leadership style appeals to this archetypal base of the rural society who creates the base of populist movement. The same has been observed in Hungary and Poland, although Tushnet and Bugaric (2022: 81) warns that in the case of Orbán and Kaczyński, their authoritarianism is more important than their populism. 

Nonetheless, the social status of voters for candidates and causes of the populist right and left is under researched, although their motivations have similar cultural and economic roots (often a cultural or economic crisis). Some scholars and political analysts have argued that a cultural crisis, marked by the erosion of traditional values and a perceived loss of national identity, is one of the main drivers of populist movements in recent years, especially in Central- and Eastern-Europe (Orenstein & Bugaric, 2020; Krastev, 2017; Verovšek, 2020; Vachudova, 2020). Populist leaders often appeal to people’s sense of cultural nostalgia and offer a vision of a return to a simpler, more traditional way of life in these countries, but this rhetoric has been evident in Donald Trump speeches as well (whose populism is rather cultural than political) (Bonikowski & Stuhler, 2022; Brownstein, 2016; Elgenius & Rydgren, 2022; Goodheart, 2018).

According to Gidron and Hall (2017: 58), electoral support of populism has a common feature as a transnational phenomenon; “at its core lie key segments of the white male working class.” Support for populism is also stronger among the older generation, the less well-off, and women: essentially among citizens whose social status has been depressed by the economic and cultural developments following the fall of the Soviet Union. These changes are intertwined: people who see themselves as economically underprivileged, see their social status declining also tend to feel culturally-distant from the dominant groups in society (Ibid: 59-60). They likewise lean “to envision that distance in oppositional terms, which lend themselves to quintessential populist appeals to a relatively ‘pure’ people pitted against a corrupt or incompetent political elite.” Threats to a person’s social status evoke feelings of hostility to outgroups, especially if the latter can be associated with the threat of status. Populism grabs the essence of this threat and politicizes social status.

Social status was identified by German sociologist Max Weber (1968) as a distinctive feature of stratification in all societies, which is not synonymous with occupation or social class. It can be rather understood as a person’s position within a hierarchy of social prestige. A person’s objective social status depends on “widely shared beliefs about the social categories or “types” of people that are ranked by society as more esteemed and respected compared to others” (Ridgeway, 2014: 3). Concerns about subjective social status condition political preferences and play a role in political dynamics. Gideon and Hall’s (2017: 63) research proves how status concerns impinge on the decision to support one candidate or cause: “Just as citizens may vote for a party because they believe it will improve their material conditions, so they might support one because they believe it will improve their social status, either by altering socioeconomic conditions in ways that augur well for their social status or by promoting symbolic representations that enhance the status of the groups to which they belong.”

Even more, in many cases, populists do not need to substantially improve the material conditions or the social status of their electorate, it is sufficient to pit against and sustain hostility to outgroups and associate them with the threat of social status decline. The outgroups are clearly identified both by the European far right and cultural populists: the liberal world order, the “loose consensus” of parliamentary democracy, the supranational construction of EU, and “what they call cultural Marxism, that is individualism and the promotion of feminism and minority rights” (Laruelle, 2020). Furthermore, most scholar agrees on that cultural populism has more in common than just these well-identified enemies: “a coercive, disciplinary state, a rhetoric of national interests, populist unity between ‘the people’ and an authoritarian leader, nostalgia for ‘past glories’ and confrontations with ‘Others’ at home and/or abroad” (Mamonova, 2019: 562) In the case of cultural populism, the ‘Others’ include immigrants, criminals, ethnic and religious minorities, LQBTQ communities, feminists and cosmopolitan elites, whose subjective social status has increased in the last twenty years. This does not need to contribute to a decline in the subjective social status of the native members of the nation-state who are claimed to be the ‘true people’. However, because social status is based on a rank ordering, “it is somewhat like a positional good, in the sense that, when many others acquire more status, the value of one’s own status may decline” (Gidron & Hall, 2017: 68). The subjective social status of many men and women (without tertiary education, living outside big cities), rural dwellers and older generations is dependent on the belief that they are socially superior to the ‘Others’. 

Regional decline seems closely coupled to cultural resentment. “The cultural trends that have raised the social prestige associated with urban life and working women have drawn firms offering good jobs and social care packages while seeking away employees from smaller cities and the countryside, intensifying the regional economic disparities that may feed cultural resentment and support for right populism” (Ibid: 78; Pfau-Effinger, 2004). The weakness of support for right populism in large metropolitan centers may reflect, not only relative prosperity, but the extent to which the experience of life within big cities promotes distinctive cultural outlooks” as the electoral results of the 2018 Polish local, the 2019 Hungarian local, the 2019 Turkish local, or the 2020 Russian regional elections shows (Ibid: 60). 

All in all, socio-economic power structure in the countryside and the perceived social status of rural men and women largely defines the political posture of different rural groups. “Less secure socio-economic strata respond more strongly to material incentives, while better-off villagers tend to support the regime’s ideological appeals – often out of fear for their social status” (Mamonova, 2019: 579).

Populism and cultural crises are closely related and can be interdependent (Aslanidis, 2021). In some cases, they are mutually reinforcing and can exacerbate each other, creating a cycle of cultural and political upheaval or even culture wars (see the Brazilian case by Dias, 2022). On the one hand, Brubaker (2017: 373) stresses that “crisis is not prior to and independent of populist politics; it is a central part of populist politics.” Populism as a strong social force can contribute to a cultural crisis by challenging and undermining established values, norms, and institutions (Maher et al., 2022). Populist leaders and movements may use their power to reshape the cultural and political landscape, often in a way that promotes their agenda and ideology, which can contribute to a cultural crisis (Stavrakakis et al., 2018). This might be done by changing laws, policies, and institutions, and by promoting certain ideologies and narratives. On the other hand, some believe populism is a response to multiple major forms of crisis (see the division of present paper); as reported by Inglehart and Norris (2016), institutional distrust stemming from the economic crisis (Algan et al., 2017: 316) gives rise to populism. 

Populist leaders and movements often present themselves as outsiders and can be critical of the status quo (anti-elitism), which can lead to a sense of uncertainty and disorientation among members of society. Additionally, populist movements can also polarize societies, by promoting nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment, which can lead to a fragmentation of society and a rise of nativism (Brubaker, 2017). Right-wing populism is more likely to divide insiders-outsiders based on cultural differences by emphasizing the outsiderhood of cultural elites (Ibid, 364). According to Kyle and Gultchin (2018: 12-13), this polarization is the 3rd strategy of populists to stoke insider-outsider division. Sharp division is exacerbated, dramatized and exaggerated by “a rhetoric of crisis that elevates the conflict between insiders and outsiders to a matter of national urgency.” Rhetoric of crisis (Moffitt, 2016) spans from populist protectionism – one of the five elements of populist repertoire – which includes cultural protectionism where populists highlight “threats to the familiar life world from outsiders who differ in religion, language, food, dress, bodily behavior, and modes of using public space” (Brubaker, 2017: 364).

Populists do love a ‘good crisis’: One of the most effective strategies of cultural populism is to perform a pervasive crisis dramatizing social division. “Populists are adept at linking failures in one policy area to failures in another, making them appear part of a broad and systematic chain of unfulfilled demands” (Kyle and Gultchin, 2018: 15). Immigrants, sexual minorities, women, religious and ethnic minorities all fall victim of this rhetoric. The changing theme of populist rhetoric is a common feature among long reigning populists in power. If they perform the same crisis, wage war against the same enemy for too long, they lose support, therefore, to maintain the fundamental crisis, they look for new ‘Others’. This however leads to deep social division as the circle of pure people is narrowing.


References

Adorno T., Frenkel-Brenswik E., Levinson D. J. and Sanford R. N. (2019). The Authoritarian Personality. Verso Books.

Ajzenman, N., Cavalcanti, T. and Da Mata, D. (2020). “More than Words: Leaders’ Speech and Risky Behavior During a Pandemic.” Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2034. University of Cambridge. 

Albertazzi, D., Favero, A., Hatakka, N. and Sijstermans, J. (2022). “Siding with the underdog: Explaining the populist radical right’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog. URL http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/114727/1/europpblog_2022_03_15_siding_with_the_underdog_explaining_the.pdf (accessed 1.25.23).

Algan, Y., Guriev, S., Papaioannou, E. and PassariI, E. (2017). “The European Trust Crisis and the Rise of Populism.”Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. 309–382. http://www.jstor.org/stable/90019460

Aslanidis, P. (2021). “Coalition-making under conditions of ideological mismatch: The populist solution.” International Political Science Review 42(5): 631–648. https://doi.org/10.1177/01925121211040946

Bansak, K., Hainmueller, J. and Hangartner, D. (2017). “Europeans support a proportional allocation of asylum seekers.” Natural Human Behaviour. 1(7): 0133. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0133

Bartha, A., Boda, Z., and Szikra, D. (2020). “When populist leaders govern: Conceptualising populism in policy making.”Politics and Governance 8(3): 71–81. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v8i3.2922

Beck, T., Saka, O. and Volpin, P. (2020). “Financial crises and right-wing populism: how do politics and finance shape each other?” LSE Business Review. July 7. Accessed on 13 March 2023. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2020/07/07/financial-crises-and-right-wing-populism-how-do-politics-and-finance-shape-each-other/

Bernhardt, T. (1996). L’origine. Gallimard.

Biancalana, C., Heinisch, R. and Mazzoleni, O. (2021). “Chapter 34: Populism facing the Coronavirus Outbreak.” In:Political Populism: Handbook of Concepts, Questions and Strategies of Research. Nomos Verlag, pp. 569-584.

Bonikowski, B. and Stuhler, O. (2022). “Reclaiming the Past to Transcend the Present: Nostalgic Appeals in U.S. Presidential Elections.” Sociological Forum 37(51): 1263-1293. https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12838

Bornschier, S. and Kriesi, H. (2013). “The populist right, the working class, and the changing basis of class politics.” In: J. Rydgren (Ed.), Class politics and the radical right. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 10–30.

Boukala, S. and Tountasaki, E. (2020). “From black to green: Analysing Le Front National’s “patriotic ecology.” In: Bernhard Forchtner (Eds.) The Far Right and the Environment: Politics, Discourse, and Communication, Fascism and the Far Right. Routledge, London & New York, pp. 72–88.

Brownstein, R. (2016). “Donald Trump’s Fragile Hold on America.” The Atlantic. November 24. Accessed on 1 March 2023. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/trump-bannon-election/508688/

Brubaker, R., (2017). “Why populism?” Theory and Society 46(5): 357–385. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44981871

Brünker, F., Deitelhoff, F. and Mirbabaie, M. (2019). “Collective Identity Formation on Instagram – Investigating the Social Movement Fridays for Future.” Presented at the Australasian Conference on Information Systems, Perth Western Australia, pp. 304–310.

Caiani, M. and Graziano, P. (2019). “Understanding varieties of populism in times of crises.” West European Politics42(6): 1141-1158. DOI: 10.1080/01402382.2019.1598062

Cepaluni, G., Dorsch, M. T., and Branyiczki, R. (2022). “Political regimes and deaths in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice 37( 1): 27-53. https://doi.org/10.1332/251569121X16268740317724

Csergő, Zs. (2021). “Populism and the crisis of expertise: A commentary on Rogers Brubaker’s essay.” Intersections.7(3): 29-35. DOI: 10.17356/ieejsp.v7i3.934.

Dias, J. F. (2022). “Culture wars in a fragmented Brazil, a guide to understanding what happened in Brazilian elections.” European Center for Populism Studies. November 4. Accessed on 2 March 2023. https://www.populismstudies.org/culture-wars-in-a-fragmented-brazil-a-guide-to-understanding-what-happened-in-brazilian-election/

Docquier, F., Peluso, E. and Morelli, M. (2022). “Democracies in Danger: How Can We break the Vicious Circle of Populism?” (Policy Brief No. 05), Crossing Borders. LISER – Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Luxembourg.

Eberl, J-M., Huber, R. A. and Greussing, E. (2021). “From populism to the ‘plandemic’: why populists believe in COVID-19 conspiracies.” Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties 31(1): 272-284. DOI: 10.1080/17457289.2021.1924730

Elgenius, G. and Rydgren, J. (2022). “Nationalism and the Politics of Nostalgia.” Sociological Forum 37(51): 1230-1243. https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12836

Farrell, N. (2022). “The war in Ukraine may benefit the populist right.” The Spectator 19.

Feldmann, M. and Popa, M. (2022). “Populism and economic policy: lessons from Central and Eastern Europe.” Post-Communist Economies 34(2): 219-245. DOI: 10.1080/14631377.2022.2029253

Feldman S. and Stenner K. (1997). “Perceived threat and authoritarianism.” Political Psychology 18(4): 741–770.

Fernandes, G.A.A.L. and de Almeida Lopes Fernandes, I. F. (2022). “Populism and health. An evaluation of the effects of right-wing populism on the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.” PLoS ONE 17(12): 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269349

Ferreira, G. B. (2021). “Conspiracy Theories in Times of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Populism, Social Media and Misinformation.” Comunicação e sociedade 40: 129-148.

Figueres, C., Schellnhuber, H.J., Whiteman, G., Rockström, J., Hobley, A. and Rahmstorf, S. (2017). “Three years to safeguard our climate.” Nature 546: 593–595.

Forchtner, B. and Kølvraa, C. (2015). “The Nature of Nationalism: Populist Radical Right Parties on Countryside and Climate.” Nature and Culture 10: 199–224.

Gidron, N. and Hall, P. A. (2017). “The politics of social status: Economic and cultural roots of the populist right.” The British Journal of Sociology 68: S57–S84.

Giuliano, B. and Hubé, N. eds. (2021). Populism and the Politicization of the COVID-19 Crisis in Europe.  Cham:  Palgrave Macmillan.

Goodheart, E. (2018). “Trump’s Cultural Populism.” Society 55: 22–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-017-0207-9

Guiso, L., Herrera, H., Morelli, M. and Sonno, T. (2017). “Demand and Supply of Populism.” IGIER Working Paper No. 610.

Haggerty, J.H. (2007). “‘I’m not a greenie but…’: Environmentality, eco-populism and governance in New Zealand Experiences from the Southland whitebait fishery.” Journal of Rural Studies 23: 222–237.

Hainmueller, J., Hiscox, M. J. and Margalit, Y. (2015). “Do concerns about labor market competition shape attitudes toward immigration? New evidence.” Journal of International Economics 97(1):193–207.

Hainmueller, J. and Hopkins, D. J. (2014). “Public attitudes toward immigration.” Annual Review of Political Science 17: 225-249.

Halikiopoulou, D. (2020). “Economic Crisis, Poor Governance and the Rise of Populism: The Case of Greece.” Intereconomics 55: 34–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10272-020-0866-4

Hartman, T. K., Stocks, T. V. A., McKay, R., Gibson-Miller, J., Levita, L., Martinez, A. P., Mason, L., McBride, O., Murphy, J., Shevlin, M., Bennett, K. M., Hyland, P., Karatzias, T., Vallières, F., and Bentall, R. P. (2021). “The Authoritarian Dynamic During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects on Nationalism and Anti-Immigrant Sentiment.” Social Psychological and Personality Science 12(7): 1274–1285. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550620978023

Hedges, K. and Lasco, G. (2021). “Medical Populism and COVID-19 Testing.” Open Anthropological Research 1(1): 73-86. https://doi.org/10.1515/opan-2020-0109

Hedrih, I. (2023). “Shame makes people living in poverty more supportive of authoritarianism, study finds.” Psypost. March 2. Accessed on 14 March, 2023. https://www.psypost.org/2023/03/shame-makes-people-living-in-poverty-more-supportive-of-authoritarianism-study-finds-68719

IPCC. (2022). Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Cambridge University Press.

Ivaldi, G. and Mazzoleni, O. (2020). “Economic populism and sovereigntism: the economic supply of European radical right-wing populist parties.” European Politics and Society 21(2): 202-218. DOI: 10.1080/23745118.2019.1632583

Iversen, T. and Soskice, D. (2019). “The Politics of the Knowledge Economy and the Rise of Populism.” In: Democracy and Prosperity: Reinventing Capitalism through a Turbulent Century. Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 216-256. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691188874-008

Kaufman, R. and Stallings, B. (1991). “The political economy of Latin American populism.” In R. Dornbusch, and S. Edwards (Eds.), The macroeconomics of populism in Latin America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 15-43.

Kavakli, K. C. (2020). “Did Populist Leaders Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic More Slowly? Evidence from a Global Sample.” COVID-19 and Populist Governments Project.

Kingsbury, D.V., Kramarz, T. and Jacques, K. (2019). “Populism or Petrostate?: The Afterlives of Ecuador’s Yasuní-ITT Initiative.” Society & Natural Resources 32: 530–547.

Krastev, I. (2017). After Europe. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Kriesi, H. (2018). “The Determinants of the Vote for the Radical Right and the Radical Left in Western Europe.” Paper Presented at the EUI Workshop on Populism, 3–4 May 2018, Fiesole.

Kriesi, H. and Pappas, T. (2015). eds. European Populism in the Shadow of the Great Recession. Colchester: ECPR Press.

Kyle, J. and Gultchin, L. (2018). “Populists in Power Around the World.” The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Online: https://doi. org/10.2139/ssra, 3283962.

Laclau, E. (1977). Politics and Ideology in Marxist Theory: Capitalism, Fascism and Populism, First. ed. New Left Books, London.

Laruelle, M. (2020). “The Kremlin’s Conservative Playbook.” Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.January 2. Accessed on 10 March 2023.. https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/the-kremlin-s-conservative-playbook?fbclid=IwAR34M3DmDzWInnOKffrkTBw_BLvkl_KXtjh9s3dLPz1Hvu64adpZSXFz3Yg

Lasco, G. (2020). “Medical populism and the COVID-19 pandemic.” Global Public Health 15(10): 1417-1429. DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2020.1807581

Legrain, P. (2022). “Can Anti-EU Populism Survive Putin’s War?” Project Syndicate.

Leonard, M. (2022). “A Blueprint for Europe.” Journal of Democracy 33: 162–166.

Lika, I. (2022). ANALYSIS – Ukraine war and right-wing populism in Europe. AA.

Lisi, M.,  Llamazares, I. and Tsakatika, M. (2019). “Economic crisis and the variety of populist responses: evidence from Greece, Portugal and Spain.” West European Politics 42(6): 1284-1309. DOI: 10.1080/01402382.2019.1596695

Lubarda, B. (2022). “The rise of ecofascism: climate change and the far right.” Environmental Politics 31: 1104–1106.

Maher, P.J., Lüders, A., Erisen, E., Rooduijn, M. and Jonas, E.M. (2022). “The Many Guises of Populism and Crisis: Introduction to the Special Issue on Populism and Global Crises.” Political Psychology 43:  819-826. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12840

Mair, P. (2002). Populist Democracy vs. Party Democracy, in: Democracies and the Populist Challenge. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 81–98.

Mamonova, N. (2019). “Understanding the silent majority in authoritarian populism: what can we learn from popular support for Putin in rural Russia?” The Journal of Peasant Studies 46(3): 561-85.

Margalit, Y. (2019). “Economic causes of populism: Important, marginally important, or important on the margin.” CEPR VoxEU. December 20. Accessed on 14 March 2023. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/economic-causes-populism-important-marginally-important-or-important-margin

Markowski, R. (2019). “Creating authoritarian clientelism: Poland after 2015.” Hague Journal on the Rule of Law 11(1): 111–132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40803-018-0082-5

Marquardt, J. and Lederer, M. (2022). “Politicizing climate change in times of populism: an introduction.” Environmental Politics 31: 735–754.

Mazzoleni, O. and Ivaldi, G. (2022). “Right-Wing Populism and the Trade-Off Between Health and the Economy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison Between Western Europe and the United States.” In: Populism and Science in Europe, Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology. Springer International Publishing, pp.255 – 284. 978-3-030-97534-0. ⟨10.1007/978-3-030-97535-7_12⟩

McGuigan, J. (1992). Cultural Populism. London: Routledge.

Middeldorp, N. and Le Billon, P. (2019). “Deadly Environmental Governance: Authoritarianism, Eco-populism, and the Repression of Environmental and Land Defenders.” Annals of the American Association of Geographers 109: 324–337.

Moffitt, B. (2015). “How to Perform Crisis: A Model for Understanding the Key Role of Crisis in Contemporary Populism.” Government and Opposition 50: 189–217.

Moffitt, B. (2015). The Global Rise of Populism. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Moffitt, B. (2016). The global rise of populism: Performance, political style, and representation. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Moran, M. and Littler, J. (2020). “Cultural populism in new populist times.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 23(6): 857–873. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549420960477

Neerdaels, J., Tröster, C., and Van Quaquebeke, N. (2022). “It’s (a) Shame: Why Poverty Leads to Support for Authoritarianism.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672221141509

Norris, P. and Inglehart, R. (2019). Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism (Cambridge University Press)

Orenstein, M. A. and Bugarič, B. (2022). “Work, family, Fatherland: the political economy of populism in central and Eastern Europe.” Journal of European Public Policy 29(2): 176-195. DOI: 10.1080/13501763.2020.1832557

Palonen, E., Kovala, U., Ruotsalainen, M., et al. (eds) (2018). Populism on the Loose. Helsinki: tekijät ja Nykykulttuurin tutkimuskeskus.

Panizza, F. (2005). “Introduction: Populism and the mirror of democracy.” In: Panizza, F. (Ed.), Populism and the mirror of democracy. Verso Books, pp. 1-31.

Pearce, K. (2022). “The Profound Effects of the War in Ukraine.” John Hopkins University Hub. Accessed on 25 January 2023. URL https://hub.jhu.edu/2022/05/19/ongoing-war-in-ukraine/ 

Pfau-Effinger, B. (2004). “Socio-historical paths of the male breadwinner model – an explanation of cross-national differences.” The British Journal of Sociology 55(3): 377-399. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-4446.2004.00025.x

Reddy, S. K., Mazhar, S. and Lencucha, R. (2018). “The financial sustainability of the World Health Organization and the political economy of global health governance: A review of funding proposals.” Globalization and Health 14(1): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-018-0436-8

Renteria, C. and Arellano-Gault, D. (2021). “How does a populist government interpret and face a health crisis? Evidence from the Mexican populist response to COVID-19.” Revista de Administração Pública 55(1): 180-196. https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-761220200524

Ridgeway, Cecilia L. (2014). “Why Status Matters for Inequality.” American Sociological Review 79 (1): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122413515997.

Rodrik, D. (2018). “Populism and the economics of globalization.” Journal of International Business  Policy, 1(12): 12–33. https://doi.org/10.1057/s42214-018-0001-4

Rooduijn, M. and Burgoon, B. (2018). “The Paradox of Well-being: Do Unfavorable Socioeconomic and Sociocultural Contexts Deepen or Dampen Radical Left and Right Voting Among the Less Well-Off?” Comparative Political Studies 51: 1720 – 1753.

Salgado, S.,  Luengo, G. Ó., Papathanassopoulos, S., Suiter, S. and Stępińska, A. (2022). “Crisis and populism: a comparative study of populist and non-populist candidates and rhetoric in the news media coverage of election campaigns.” European Politics and Society 23(5): 563-578. DOI: 10.1080/23745118.2021.1896882

Scherhaufer, P., Klittich, P. and Buzogány, A. (2021). “Between illegal protests and legitimate resistance. Civil disobedience against energy infrastructures.” Utilities Policy 72: 1–9.

Schwörer, J. and Fernández-García, B. (2022). “Populist radical right parties and discursive opportunities during Covid-19. Blame attribution in times of crisis.” Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12286-022-00540-w

Snegovaya, M. (2018). Ex-Communist Party Choices and the Electoral Success of the Radical Right in Central and Eastern Europe. Columbia University

Sonno, T.,  Herrera, H., Morelli, M. and Guiso L. (2022). “Financial crises as drivers of populism: A new channel.” CEPR VoxEU. July 7. Accessed on 15 March 2023. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/financial-crises-drivers-populism-new-channel

Spilimbergo, A. (2021). “Populism and Covid-19.” CEPR VoxEU. July 13. Accessed on 17 March 2023. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/populism-and-covid-19

Stavrakakis, Y., Katsambekis, G., Kioupkiolis, A., Nikisianis, N. and Siomos, T. (2018). “Populism, anti-populism and crisis.” Contemporary Political Theory 17(1): 4– 27. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41296-017-0142-y

Tarant, Z. (2020). “Is Brown the New Green? The Environmental Discourse of the Czech Far Right.” In: In Bernhard Forchtner (Eds.) The Far Right and the Environment: Politics, Discourse, and Communication, Fascism and the Far Right. Routledge, London & New York, pp. 201–215.

Toplišek, A. (2020). “The political economy of populist rule in post-crisis Europe: Hungary and Poland.” New Political Economy 25(3): 388–403. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2019.1598960

Torres-Wong, M. (2019). “Natural Resources, Extraction and Indigenous Rights in Latin America: Exploring the Boundaries of Environmental and State Corporate Crime in Bolivia, Peru and Mexico.” First. ed, Crimes of the Powerful. Routledge, New York.

Turner-Graham, E. (2020). “Protecting our Green and Pleasant Land”: UKIP, the BNP and a history of green ideology on Britain’s far right.” In: In Bernhard Forchtner (Eds.) The Far Right and the Environment: Politics, Discourse, and Communication, Fascism and the Far Right. Routledge, London & New York, pp. 57–71.

Tushnet, M. and Bugarič, B. (2022). “Populist Authoritarianism: Hungary and Poland.” In: Power to the People: Constitutionalism in the Age of Populism (New York, 2022; online edn, Oxford Academic, 20 Jan. 2022) Accessed on 17 March 2023. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197606711.003.0005 

UNDP. (1994). New dimensions of human security, in: Human Development Report. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 22–40.

Vachudova, M. A. (2020). “Ethnopopulism and democratic backsliding in Central Europe.” East European Politics 36(3): 318-340.

Valdivia, P. (2020). “Cultural Narratives of Crisis and Populism in Spain: Metaphor, Nation-branding, and Social Change.” In: Boletsi, M., Houwen, J., Minnaard, L. (eds) Languages of Resistance, Transformation, and Futurity in Mediterranean Crisis-Scapes. Palgrave Studies in Globalization, Culture and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36415-1_6

Verovšek, P. (2020). “Caught Between 1945 and 1989: collective memory and the rise of illiberal democracy in the postcommunist Europe.” Journal of European Public Policy. DOI: 10.1080/13501763.2020.1768279

Weber, M. (1968). Economy and Society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Weiss, A.S. (2020). “With Friends Like These: The Kremlin’s Far-Right and Populist Connections in Italy and Austria, The Return of Global Russia.” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Washington, United States.

Wittmer, H. and Birner, R. (2005). Between Conservationism, eco-populism and developmentalism: discourses in biodiversity policy in Thailand and Indonesia (Working Paper No. 37). CAPRi Working Paper. International Food Policy Research Institute. Washington, United States.

Wodak, R. (2022). “Legitimizing Crisis Management during COVID-19.” Argumentation et Analyse du Discours 28. https://doi.org/10.4000/aad.6483

 


Feedbacks From Former Participants

Chloe Smith: ECPS Summer School was an outstanding program. Over the course of a week, participants were fortunate to not only listen to – but engage with – a range of academics and experts working in the field of populism studies. The order of speakers/topics worked well, with initial discussions exploring what populism is, and later discussions centered on more specific manifestations of populism.

Maya Sopory: I had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed it! I really appreciated the clear communication and structure, the inclusive culture, and the learning opportunity. I would recommend this program to others and would happily participate in any of their programs again!

Daniel Gamez: The ECPS course was an interesting and forming experience. From time to time, I still make use of the literature that we have been given. Thank you for the opportunity.

Saurabh Raj: I am thrilled to be a part of this excellent initiative. This was a great exposure for me. For the very first time I was a part of a community of some brilliant international minds. All lectures were quite moving, informative, engaging, and insightful as well. This program helped me to understand populism as a subject, and developed my basic understanding about populism, its varieties, impact, and relevance in the current time. This gave me a critical lens to analyze populism of different countries. Now I am able to identify populist traits and rhetoric and the most significant outcome for me is that I can articulate my area of interest within the subject. I think this is a great beginning for me and I am hopeful that I will keep getting support from the ECPS community in my evolution as an expert of this field.

More than 200,000 Muslim protesters descended on Jakarta to demand the governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama or Ahok, be arrested for insulting Islam on November 4, 2016. Photo: Shutterstock.

Mapping Global Populism — Panel #3: Religious Populism and Radicalization in Indonesia

Date/Time: Thursday, May 25, 2023 – 10:00-12:00 (CET) / 16:00-18:00 (WIB)

This panel is jointly organised by The European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS) and The Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI) .

 

Click here to register!

 

Moderator

Dr Ihsan Yilmaz (Research Professor and Chair of Islamic Studies and Intercultural Dialogue at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI), Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia). 

Speakers

“Main drivers of populism in Indonesia,” by Dr Inaya Rakhmani (Director of Asia Research Centre, Universitas Indonesia).

“Radicalism, extremism and civilizationalist populism in Indonesia,” by Dr Pradana Boy Zulian (Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia).

“Gender roles in Indonesia’s religious populism,” by Dr Kurniawati Hastuti Dewi (Senior Researcher at the Research Center for Politics, National Research and Innovation Agency – BRIN, Indonesia).

Populism and foreign policy: The Indonesian case,” by Dr I Gede Wahyu Wicaksana (Senior International Relations Lecturer in the Department of International Relations Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia).

 

Click here to register!

 

 

Brief Biographies

Ihsan Yilmaz is a research professor of political science and international relations at Deakin University’s ADI. He is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Oxford University’s Regent College and Brussels-based think tank, the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS). Previously, he worked at the Universities of Oxford and London and has a strong track record of leading multi-site international research projects to successful completion. At Deakin, his projects have been funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), Department of Veteran Affairs, Victorian Government and Gerda Henkel Foundation. He is the author of Authoritarianism, Informal Law, and Legal Hybridity (Palgrave Macmillan) and Creating the Desired Citizen (Cambridge University Press).

Dr Inaya Rakhmani is the Director of Asia Research Centre, Universitas Indonesia. Rakhmani uses cultural political economy to study media and communications as well as knowledge and information in order to explain broader capitalist changes. She is deeply concerned about social sciences, social inequalities and democratic developments. She has been researching the role of social and mass media in hindering democratic developments; in Indonesia, with comparisons to India, Egypt, and Turkey (from 2015 to now). She recently finalized a study on social sciences and policy responses in Southeast Asia (eleven countries) in partnership with the Global Development Network and the IDRC. She is also an honorary member of the Indonesian Young Academy of Sciences (ALMI). Her work has been published at the prominent journals and she also the author of ‘Mainstreaming Islam in Indonesia: Television, Identity and the Middle Class’ published by Palgrave MacMillan, 2016. Her publication on populism is “Authoritarian Populism in Indonesia: The Role of the Political Campaign Industry in Engineering Consent and Coercion.” Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 40(3) (2021), 436–460. https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034211027885

Dr Pradana Boy Zulian is an Associate Professor in Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Islamic Studies, University of Muhammadiyah Malang in Indonesia. He currently holds a position as Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs, Faculty of Islamic Studies. In 2015, he gained his PhD in sociology of Islamic law from Department of Malay Studies, National University of Singapore (NUS). In addition, he studied politics at University of Massachusetts, US in 2017; and Islamic thought and philosophy at al-Mustafa International University, Qom, Iran, in 2020. His current publication is “Indonesia: A Complex Religious Diversity Governance,” in Anna Triandafyllidou and Tina Magazzini (eds). Routledge Handbook on the Governance of Religious Diversity. New York: Routledge, 2020 and “Radicalisation and Resilience Case Study: Indonesia,” in GREASE Religion, Diversity and Radicalisation, European University Institute (EUI), 2020. http://grease.eui.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2021/01/WP4-Report_Indonesia.pdf

Dr Kurniawati Hastuti Dewi is a senior researcher at the Research Center for Politics, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). Her research interests are in gender and politics, women and politics, gender and Islam, local politics, and civil society. She is the founder and coordinator of the Gender and Politics research team at BRIN since 2015. She received her Doctoral Degree in Asian Studies from the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies (ASAFAS) at Kyoto University in Japan in 2012. Her publications are numerous, including “Indonesian Women and Local Politics: Islam, Gender and Networks in Post-Suharto Indonesia. Singapore: National University of Singapore Press and Kyoto University Press, 2015 and “Motherhood Identity in the 2019 Indonesian Presidential Elections: Populism and Political Division in the National Women’s Movement”, Contemporary Southeast Asia 42(2) (2020): 224–50. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26937801

Dr I Gede Wahyu Wicaksana is a senior International Relations lecturer in the Department of International Relations Faculty of Social and Political Sciences Universitas Airlangga Surabaya Indonesia. His research interests include Indonesian politics, security and foreign policy, ASEAN regionalism and international relations of great powers in the Indo-Pacific, and non-traditional security challenges in Southeast Asia, focusing on climate change and transnational terrorism. He has published in numerous articles in acclaimed international journals. His current publication is “Populism and foreign policy: The Indonesian case,” Asian Politics and Policy 13(3) (2021): 408-425. https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.12594

Internship

Internship Positions at the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS)

Duration: 6 months

Commitment: Part-time (20 hours per week)

Location: Remote internship

 

Description

We are looking for motivated interns to join our team. As an intern, you will have the opportunity to improve your analytical thinking, academic writing, research conducting, and organisational and networking skills in a multicultural and dynamic environment. The internship will start in May 2023 and last for six months. 

Your main tasks will be:

•           Conducting academic research (mainly desk research) and writing essays/commentaries/articles related to the topics covered by ECPS Research Programs: authoritarianism, digital populism, economics, gender, migration, environment and climate, extremism and radicalisation, foreign policy, human rights, global peace and order, leadership and persona. 

•           Prepare briefs and reports of monthly and annual activities (panels, seminars, conferences) to be published on the ECPS website. 

•           Assisting the ECPS experts in the preparation and organisation of various events (book talks, seminars, panels, summer school, symposiums).

•           Supporting the ECPS team in communication activities (e.g., preparation of online Newsletter) and in the management of social media accounts.

•           Contributing to the applications for various projects (e.g., EU-funded projects).

•           Contributing to the implementation of the ongoing projects (Depending on the ECPS role in the project, interns will assist the team in data collection, report writing, dissemination and communication activities, event organisation etc.)

Who we are

The European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Brussels for research on and analysis of challenges posed by increasing political populism. ECPS promotes open society by adhering to the principles of liberal democracy, including the rule of law, human rights, pluralism, freedom of speech, gender equality, social and environmental justice, transparency, and accountability. It does so by facilitating collaboration among networks of academic experts, practitioners, policymakers, 

media, and other stakeholders, offering a platform for exploring policy solutions on issues relating to rising populism and providing insights for policy-making and critical analysis. To this end, ECPS prepares research publications, policy reports, white papers, and commentaries, conducts interviews with experts and organises events, seminars, workshops, and conferences.

Qualifications and Experience

Essentials  

•           Possess at least a master’s degree in social sciences (applications from master’s students at the stage of dissertation writing will be accepted)

•           Knowledge and/or interest in global politics and populism-related topics, particularly in, but not limited to, the European context

•           Knowledge and experience in academic writing

•           Knowledge of scientific methodology (qualitative or quantitative research methods)

•           Fluency in the English language (both verbal and written)

•           Excellent influencing, facilitation and communication skills (both orally and in writing)

•           Being able to work, organise and prioritize autonomously

•           Being competent in off-the-shelf software (MS Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint)

•           A collaborative team member

•           Experience of work/study in a multicultural environment

•           Possess a creative, proactive and open mindset with high respect for deadlines.

Desirable

•           Knowledge of French and/or Flemish or a second official European language will be an asset.

What we offer

•           Enlarge your network with academics, policymakers, project experts and other stakeholders across Europe

•           Learn about populism and gain a deeper insight into contemporary issues in European and global politics

•           Publish your research product and related outputs through ECPS

•           Take part in the EU events, academic conferences, seminars, workshops, project preparation and implementation activities in Brussels

•           Improve your organisational, communication and networking skills through actively taking part in ECPS events

•           Opportunity to be a permanent member of the ECPS Youth

•           Gain invaluable experience in an international and multicultural environment

Internship conditions

•           The internship is unpaid, remote and part-time for 6 months starting in early May 2023. 

How to apply?

If you are interested in joining us and making ECPS your next professional experience, please send your CV and cover letter (1-page maximum) to Seyma Celem at her email address scelem@populismstudies.org by 30 April 2023 by 12:00 am CET, with the subject line “Internship at ECPS”.

Unfortunately, we cannot respond to every application; only short-listed candidates will be contacted. However, all applications will be kept in file, and candidates will be contacted if a suitable opportunity arises. The information provided in the applications is subject to EU legislation on the protection of personal data and confidentiality of information.

ECPS is committed to diversity and inclusion to ensure that everyone has equal opportunities for employment, advancement, and retention, regardless of their gender, age, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, cultural background, sexual orientation, or disability

ECPS has inaugurated a Case Competition Series in Populism Studies and held its first competition on March 7, 2023, in Brussels with the participation of ECPS Early Career Researchers Network and ECPS Youth Group members. Photo: Umit Vurel.

ECPS launches a ‘Case Competition Series’ for early career researchers

ECPS has inaugurated a Case Competition Series in Populism Studies and held its first competition on March 7, 2023, in Brussels with the participation of ECPS Early Career Researchers Network (ECRN) and ECPS Youth Group members to provide a unique learning experience for students and young professionals and support them in learning how to transform their academic knowledge into feasible policy suggestions.

ECPS has inaugurated a Case Competition Series in Populism Studies and held its first competition on March 7, 2023, in Brussels with the participation of ECRN (ECPS Early Career Researchers Network) and ECPS Youth members. The competition focused on a pressing issue in contemporary democracies: The rise of far-right movements in Europe, disinformation, and conspiracy theories. In order to narrow our focus, we chose to situate our case in Germany, a key player in Europe’s political and economic landscape, and we expected participants to pay special attention to Russia’s role in this context. Please consult this document for detailed information. 

Photos: Umit Vural.

While case competitions are widely used and popular in consulting, finance, and risk management, we firmly believe they can also be effective tools for putting theory into practice in the fields of political science and international relations. Thus, ECPS has decided to launch the ECPS Case Competition Series, which focuses on different topics in the framework of Populism Studies. Our research has highlighted the numerous potential benefits of designing and hosting a case competition in this field, and we are confident that this series will be a valuable experience for all involved, which has been the case for the event on the 7th of March. 

Case competitions are a type of event in which teams of students or professionals compete against each other to develop and pitch solutions to a business, public administration or a political and/or international relations problem. Teams are given a limited amount of time to research, analyze, develop, and pitch their solutions.

Case competitions are based on contemporary and relevant real-world problems that challenge participants to analyze complex issues and craft innovative solutions. Participants are divided into teams to work together on solving the case, allowing them to enhance their teamwork skills. The proposals of the participants are evaluated based on criteria such as creativity, feasibility, and presentation by a panel of scholars and experts in the field.

Our main goal in carrying out a case competition in the field of political science/populism studies and international relations is to provide a platform for students and professionals to showcase their analytical and problem-solving skills while addressing real-world issues that are relevant to the field. The competition forces participants to think critically and creatively as they research and develop solutions to a complex political or international relations problem. It serves as a valuable learning experience for participants, helping them develop critical skills in high demand in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing political and international landscape. 

By contributing to the competition, participants gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of global and European politics and international relations. They will be better prepared for their future careers. Participants are able to apply their knowledge and skills in a competitive setting and are evaluated by a panel of experts in the field. The panel of experts that assessed the case presentation on March 7, 2023, was formed by the scholars who contributed to the ECPS report on “The Impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Right-wing Populism in Europe.”

Overall, our goal in launching this case competition series is to provide a unique and valuable learning experience for students and young professionals and support them in learning how to transform their academic knowledge into feasible policy suggestions.

 

 

 

Symposium

The Second Annual International Symposium on ‘Impacts of Global Power Transition on Authoritarian Populism and Multilateralism’

Virtual Symposium by The European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS), Brussels/Belgium

March 30-31, 2023

 

Click here to register!

 

Day I (March 30, 2023)

14:00–17:30 (Central European Time)

 

Welcome Remarks

By Cengiz AKTAR (Professor, Senior Researcher at Foreign Policy Program of the ECPS).

Opening Speech

By Sir Graham WATSON (Honorary President of the ECPS).

 

Panel -I-

Multilateralism: The Past and the Future

14:30-16:00 (Central European Time)

Moderator: Aline BURNI (Policy Analyst on International Relations, Foundation for European Progressive Studies, Brussels).

“How international law enables great power domination and great power competition and what can be done about it,” by Mattias KUMM (S.J.D. Harvard, Research Professor for Global Constitutionalism, WZB Berlin Social Science Center).

“Mini-literalism in the Indo-Pacific as an alternative to multilateralism and bilateralism? The role of public support and populism,” by Werner PASCHA (Prof. of Economics, Duisburg-Essen University, Institute of East Asian Studies-IN-EAST).

“On the new paradigms of cooperation in the rising world of multiplexity in countering populism,” by Richard CLARK (Associated Professor, Department of Government, Cornell University).

 

Panel -II-

Power Shift, Multiplex World, and Populism

16:00-17:30 (Central European Time)

Moderator: Emilia ZANKINA (Interim Vice Provost for Global Engagement, Dean, Temple University Rome).

“Cooperation regimes and hegemonic struggle: Opportunities and challenges for developing countries,” by Sara CARIA (Research Professor at The Center for Public Economics and Strategic Sectors at the Institute of Higher National Studies).

“The Chinese perspective of multilateralism, power transition, and the so-called new world order,”  by ZHANG Xin (Associated Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, Deputy Director/Center for Russian Studies, East China Normal University, Shanghai).

“In pursuit of Xi Jinping’s dream world order: The case of the BRI,” by Ibrahim OZTURK (Professor of Economics, The ECPS Senior Researcher and the University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute of East Asian Studies).

 

 

Day II (March 31, 2023)

13:00–17:30 (Central European Time)

 

Keynote Speech

“Saving multilateralism and democracy under global power transition and rising authoritarian populism,” by Věra JOUROVA (The Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency –Previously the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality).

 

Panel -III-

The ‘New Globalization’ and Countering Populism

14:00-15:30 (Central European Time)

Moderator: Helmut WAGNER (Professor of Economics, Fern Universität in Hagen).

“Economic populism and sovereigntism: The rise of European radical right-wing populist parties,” by Oscar MAZZOLENI (Political Sciences, University of Lausanne).

“Populism or embedded plutocracy? The emerging world orders,” by Michael LEE (CUNY-Hunter College, New York).

“Chinese ‘hub and spoke’ – multilateralism and the notion of populist economic policy,”  by Marcus TAUBE (Professor of East Asian Economics/China, Mercator School of Management, Institute of East Asian Studies (IN-EAST), Duisburg-Essen University).

 

Closing Keynote Speech

15:30-16:30 (Central European Time)

“Multipolar globalization, learning curves and populism,” by Jan Nederveen PIETERSE (Mellichamp Chair and Distinguished Professor of Global Studies & Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA).

Closing Remarks

16:30-16:45 (Central European Time)

By Naim KAPUCU (Pegasus Professor, School of Public Administration & School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, University of Central Florida).

 

Click here to register!


 

Abstracts

How international law enables great power domination and great power competition and what can be done about it

By Mattias Kumm 

After WWII the UN Charter established the obligation to resolve disputes peacefully, to prohibit the use of force and establish a system of collective security. In practice this system has failed in its core mission to prevent militarily organized great power competition. Instead, the system has evolved to effectively establish prerogative powers in favor of certain great powers, who compete with one another today over the question who and within what limits these powers are to be exercised. The presentation will analyze the specific features of international law, that effectively enable the United States, China and Russia to exercise prerogative power and addresses the question what might be done to curtail and eventually eliminate those powers and the dangerous competition it produces.

 

Minilateralism in the Indo-Pacific as an alternative to multilateralism and bilateralism? The role of public support and populism

By Werner Pascha

Minilateralism has spread considerably in recent years, and the Indo-Pacific has been a pivot for this development. The Quad group, encompassing Australia, India, Japan and the US, is but the most prominent example. The trend towards minilateral initiatives is usually explained by referring to issues on the level of international cooperation, namely certain deficiencies of multilateralism and bilateralism. Another argument is related to presumed organizational efficiency advantages. In this contribution, we explore the under-researched argument that minilateralism is also related to domestic political factors of the countries involved. Namely, we look into the argument that in many circumstances it may be easier and more promising for both populist governments and for governments that need to defend themselves against populist sentiments to engage in minilateral initiatives, rather than to focus on different levels of international cooperation.

 

On the new paradigms of cooperation in the rising world of multiplexity in countering populism

By Richard Clark

A nascent literature in international relations has identified a reticence by populist leaders to engage in good faith with international organizations (IOs), including international financial institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). This is largely because such organizations are staffed by elites and experts, which populists position themselves against, and perceived by populists’ constituents as benefiting elites rather than the common people. As a result of this populist skepticism of IOs, resurgent populism in many parts of the world has corresponded to mounting attacks by populist leaders on IOs and the experts that staff them. Moreover, populists may take advantage of regime complexity, or the presence of multiple IOs in a given issue space, to select the forum that intrudes least on state sovereignty. I will specifically discuss how the IMF and its operations have been targeted by populist leaders in this way; how the Fund has reacted to the populist challenge; and the conditions under which populists may cooperate with rather than criticize the IMF.

 

Cooperation regimes and hegemonic struggle: Opportunities and challenges for developing countries

By Sara Caria

There is an increasing convergence in the international relations literature around the idea that changes in the world economy during the last decades are reshaping the international order; although the outcome of such a reconfiguration is yet unclear, many scholars argue that a dispute over global hegemony is already underway. At the same time, drawing on realist and neorealist approaches, international cooperation can be seen as a means to gain legitimacy and tighten alliances. In this framework, this article analyses three cooperation regimes as terrains of dispute to expand—or maintain—international leadership. The first, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda, reflects mainly the attempt to maintain the legitimacy of the United Nations system and the multilateral institutions that make up the traditional cooperation regime. This framework still responds to Western interests, despite China’s efforts to contest and contain US influence. The second, South–South cooperation, wrapped up in the rhetoric of horizontality and common challenges, is the privileged terrain of middle powers and emerging countries, aiming at increasing regional influence. Finally, the third scheme, International Cooperation for Structural Transformation, is China’s new development doctrine and the fulcrum of its struggle to promote itself as a successful new model for global development. In my conclusions I reflect on the opportunities that the co-existence of different regimes offers for developing countries, as well as the challenges that they continue to face in their search for autonomous development paths.

 

Shifting Chinese perspectives on multilateralism and the new world order 

By ZHANG Xin

The presentation first unpacks the multiple layers of connotations within Chinese state’s discourse on multilateralism and new world order, including multilateralism vs. isolation; multilateralism vs. multipolarity; multilateralism as institutions/rule binding behavior vs. non-institutionalized behavior; genuine multilateralism vs. fake multilateralism, etc. It then traces how Chinese state’s perceptions of multilateralism have shifted over time, partially driven by the ongoing power transition in international system. Last, it briefly matches such shifting perceptions and discursive mechanisms on multilateralism and new world order with China’s key policy choices and institutional building during the past two decades.

 

In pursuit of Xi Jinping’s dream world order: The case of the BRI

By Ibrahim Ozturk

The current multipolarity and power shifts make it essential to see what kind of world order the rising powers like China want. While some experts endeavor to grasp this concerning the long history of China, in this presentation, we will try to project the future by following the strategy, institutional governance quality, policy and practices that China has put forward since 2014 in BRI, the most important vision project put before the international community. China’s selective and dual approach towards the current “global order” is the most prominent hint about China’s world order. Namely, the communist party keeps silent in reforming the existing multilateral global system’s deficiencies in matters deemed appropriate for China’s interests. It also uses the opportunities of the liberal order abroad but denies the principle of reciprocity at home and tries to legitimize it with the so-called “socialism with Chinese characteristics”. This presentation will argue that the Chinese perspective observed in the BRI can be interpreted as the reincarnation of China’s hierarchical “world systems approach”, which refers to its ancient investiture-tribute system.

 

Economic populism and sovereigntism: The rise of European radical right-wing populist parties

By Oscar Mazzoleni

The study of the ideological and policy stances of successful European radical right-wing populist parties represents important research topics in political science. Although cultural dimensions taken in a narrow sense are crucial (e.g. Norris & Inglehart 2019), scholarship has been increasingly interested to economic aspects, with a focus on welfare, redistribution and international trade. This contribution argues that the economic supply of radical right populist parties is characterized by a mix of economic populism and sovereignism, which forms the basis of a common mobilization frame. While economic populism refers to defense of the economic prosperity of the ‘heartland’ against its enemies, e.g. the elite and immigrants, economic sovereignism entails the message of “nostalgia of the old good times” by referring to an idealized or “gold” period when economic well-being was predominant among the people, and which needs to be restored” (Ivaldi & Mazzoleni 2021).

 

Populism or embedded plutocracy? The emerging world orders

By Michael Lee

What kind of foreign policy vision are populist governments likely to bring to the world stage? Conventional wisdom would suggest that populists are likely to oppose multilateral cooperation and the cosmopolitan global vision that has characterized much of the post-Cold War era. However, this does not mean that populists are intrinsically opposed to all forms of international interaction – particularly in a world order increasingly shaped by populist governments themselves. I argue that while populists are likely to oppose formal and technocratic intergovernmental organizations, populist leaders are likely to engage in bilateral cooperation with other leaders, and even in more broad-based cooperation when doing so is aligned with the divisions they would like to stoke domestically. 

 

Chinese “hub and spoke”-multilateralism and the notion of populist economic policy

By Marcus Taube 

Chinese leaders present themselves as advocators of a multilateral world order. As exemplified by the Belt & Road Initiative, however, China’s de facto (economic) external relations are modelled on a “hub-and-spoke” system, where China establishes a multitude of bilateral relations, which are then integrated in a larger (multilateral) setting in which China commands a central, leading role. The presentation discusses this phenomenon and outlines populist features of China’s external economic policies designed to promote further Chinese influence, economic leverage and soft-power in an international economic environment.

 

Multipolar globalization, learning curves and populism           

By Jan Nederveen Pieterse 

Right-wing populist parties move to the center (Italy, France, Sweden), repeat electoral rollercoasters (Netherlands), insert authoritarian nostalgia into the mainstream (Philippines), fail (Trump, Bolsonaro) or remain stuck in failure (Brexit, Freedom Caucus). Right of center parties move to the extreme right (Likud Israel, US Republicans), muddle on (UK) or nearly crater (UMNO Malaysia). Center parties may opt for ‘critical centrism’ (Macron). Other parties are in the phase of changing not just politics, phase one and policies, phase two, but laws and institutions, level three (BJP India, Likud, Erdogan Turkey, Fidesz Hungary, Justice Party Poland), a level that established authoritarian regimes have long achieved. These multi-directional trends involve crisscrossing learning curves, alongside Realpolitik, on the part of politicians, publics, media, think tanks, funders, foreign interests (Russian influencers) and so forth. For rightwing voters issue loyalty often matters more than party loyalty. Politics is constant learning, its nature changes as dynamics change and learning is multi-directional. Polycrisis focuses social attention on capable governance rather than ideological posturing. While much right-wing populism has been a response to economic setbacks, deindustrialization, 2008 crisis, austerity, immigration, now great power conflicts take the foreground and multipolar globalization takes a geopolitical turn, a shift that leaves less room at the table for right-wing populists. Overarching trends play a part in multi-directional movements, yet they are not linear and their implications are not uniform across settings. Generalizations about populism miss its diversity and diverse learning curves.

People flooded the streets of Manila to demand justice for all the victims of extrajudicial killings that happened during the time of President Duterte on June 30, 2021. Photo: Santino Quintero.

Mapping Global Populism — Panel #2: Populism, Macho-Fascism and Varieties of Illiberalism in The Philippines

Date/Time: Thursday, April 27, 2023 — 09:00-11:00 (CET)

Click here to register!

Moderator 

Dr Paul Kenny (Professor in the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences at the Australian Catholic University). 

Speakers

“Populism, Illiberalism and Authoritarianism in the Philippines: From Past to Present,” by Dr Adele Webb (Research Fellow in Democracy and Citizen Engagement at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of Canberra).

“Duterte’s ‘violent populism’ in comparative and historical perspective,” by Dr Mark Richard Thompson (A Professor of Politics at Department of Asian and International Studies and director of Southeast Asia Research Center at the City University of Hong Kong).

“Gendered Populism of Dutertismo and Hypermasculinity in the Philippine’s politics,” by Dr Jean S. Encinas-Franco  (A Professor in the Department of Political Science, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines, Diliman).

Media Populism and Anti-Free Speech in Duterte’s Philippines,” by Dr. Jefferson Lyndon D. Ragragio (An Assistant Professor at the Department of Science Communication, College of Development Communication, University of the Philippines at Los Baños).

Click here to register!

Brief Biographies

Paul Kenny is Professor and Director of the Political Science Program at the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences at Australian Catholic University and a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University. Dr Kenny is the author of three books, Populism and Patronage: Why Populists Win Elections in India, Asia, and Beyond (Oxford University Press, 2017), which won the American Political Science Association’s 2018 Robert A. Dahl Award, Populism in Southeast Asia (Cambridge University Press, 2019), and most recently, Why Populism? Political Strategy from Ancient Greece to the Present (Cambridge University Press, 2023). He has a PhD in political science from Yale University, and degrees in economics and political economy from the London School of Economics and Trinity College Dublin.

Dr Adele Webb joined the University of Canberra’s Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance in 2023 as Research Fellow in Democracy and Citizen Engagement. She is an early career political sociologist (PhD University of Sydney 2019) researching how citizens think about democracy, when and why they hold ambivalent attitudes to democracy, and how subjectivities and the political unconscious affect their engagement with democratic processes. Adele’s work has been published in academic journals and edited books, including The Duterte Reader (2017), Democratic Theory (2018), and Populism Around the World (2019). Her first monograph, Chasing Freedom: The Philippines’ Long Journey to Democratic Ambivalence, was published by Liverpool University Press and Ateneo de Manila University Press in 2022.

Dr Mark R. Thompson is Professor of Politics, Department of Asian and International Studies and director, Southeast Asia Research Centre (SEARC) at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU). He is past president of the Hong Kong Political Science Association and the Asian Political and International Studies Association. Thompson is the author or editor of 10 books and over 200 articles – many in top journals- and book chapters, his research focuses on autocratization, presidentialism, authoritarian developmentlaism, and dynastic national leadership in East Asia (Northeast and Southeast Asia). His research has been cited over 3,600 times (according to Google Scholar) and has been featured in the popular media (e.g. Time Magazine, The Washington Post, CNBC, and Wired Magazine). He lends his expertise to government, public foundations, and non-government organizations in the areas of East Asian politics and development

Dr Jean Encinas-Franco is currently a Professor in the Department of Political Science, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines, Diliman. Before she entered the academy, she worked for 15 years at the Senate of the Philippines, where she was Director III of the Senate Economic Planning Office. She also lectured at the International Studies Department of Miriam College from 1999 to 2009 and was a Faculty Associate of its Women and Gender Institute. Her research focuses on labor migration and gendered discourses of migrant workers. She teaches Gender and Politics and Feminist International Relations.

Dr Jefferson Lyndon D. Ragragio is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Science Communication, College of Development Communication, University of the Philippines at Los Baños. His research focuses on media populism, journalism and digital politics. Trained in media studies, his recent work on populism and religion appeared in the International Communication Association and Oxford University Press’ journal Communication, Culture and Critique. He earned his PhD from the School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University.

Protesters hold flags of many European countries. International blockade by 1000 activists of the Austrian Identitarian Movement of the border crossing near Spielfeld, Austria on November 28, 2015. Photo: Johanna Poetsch.

ECPS Symposium on the Impacts of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine on Right-wing Populism in Europe

Date/Time/Place: March 8, 2023, 15:00-17:00 (CET), European Parliament in Brussels.

The symposium hosted by MEP Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS

The symposium is to mark one year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It aims to shed light on the challenges the war brought to the European political arena, particularly in the context of rising populism, and trigger a discussion on how to remedy these issues. To this end, ECPS prepared a report contributed by 30 scholars, reflecting the situation in 24 European countries. The conclusions of the report at the European level will be presented at this symposium.

AGENDA

Moderator

Dr Simon P. WATMOUGH (Research Fellow, ECPS).

Opening Remarks

Sir Graham WATSON (Honorary President of the ECPS — via video conferencing).

Welcome Remarks

MEP Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS (Renew Europe).

Keynote Address

His Excellency Chentsov VSEVOLOD (Head of the Mission of Ukraine to the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community).

Presenters of the Report

Dr Emilia ZANKINA (Editor of the Report, Temple University-Rome).

Dr Gilles IVALDI (Editor of the Report, Centre de Recherches Politiques de Sciences Po).

Closing Remarks

MEP Radan KANEV (EPP, Bulgaria).

Q&A Session

 

Please mark your calendar and follow the symposium via

ECPS YouTube Channel