Emirati men perform the traditional Al Ayala dance in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on December 23, 2019. Photo: Shutterstock.

Mapping Global Populism – Panel XVIII: Populism and Autocracy in the Gulf Countries

by EventsPast Events

Date/Time: Thursday, December 19, 2024 — 15:00-17:30 (CET)

 

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Moderator

Dr. Courtney Freer (Assistant Professor, Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies, Emory University, Atlanta, GA).

Speakers

“Key Drivers of Autocratization in the Gulf Region,” by Dr. Thomas Demmelhuber (Professor, Chairholder, Institute of Political Science, Chair of Middle East Politics and Society, the Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg).

“The Evolving Social Contract in the GCC,” by Dr. Gail Buttorff (Associate Director of the Center for Public Policy and Assistant Professor at the Hobby School, University of Houston).

“The New Green Autocrats: How Saudi Arabia and the UAE Redefine Environmental Leadership,” by Dr. Tobias Zumbraegel (Postdoc at Geography Institute, the University of Heidelberg).

“The Role of Salafism in the National and International Politics of Gulf Monarchies,” by Kardo Kareem Rached (Assistant Professor at University of Human Development, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq).

“Populism in Gulf Monarchies:  Suppression, Cooptation, Adoption,” by Dr. Kristin Smith Diwan (Senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington).

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Brief Biographies and Abstracts

Dr. Courtney Freer is Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Emory University and Senior Fellow at Emory’s Center for the Study of Law and Religion. She previously served as Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) between 2015-2021. Courtney’s academic work focuses on the domestic politics of the Arab Gulf states, particularly the political role of religion, and Islamism more broadly. She received her DPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford in 2015, having written a thesis examining the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The findings of this work were published by Oxford University Press in 2018 as Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies. She previously worked at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar and the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council in Washington, DC, and holds a BA in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University and an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from The George Washington University.

Key Drivers of Autocratization in the Gulf region

Dr. Thomas Demmelhuber is Professor of Middle East Politics and Society at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany) and visiting professor at the College of Europe (Natolin). He has been researching the Middle East and its transregional entanglements for more than two decades. He has lived and worked in different countries with substantial field work experience all across the region. As PI and Co-PI he has so far been awarded more than EUR 5 Mio. in research grants. Demmelhuber has advised different German ministries, the European Parliament (Subcommittee on Human Rights) and various foundations. He is serving in different scientific advisory councils, e.g. of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin (SWP) or the German Orient-Institute in Beirut (Max Weber Foundation). Demmelhuber is also board member and Hon. Secretary of the German Middle East Studies Association. Demmelhuber publishes regularly in leading international journals (e.g. Democratization, Third World Quarterly) and has published/edited numerous books, for example: The comprehensive volume on Authoritarian Gravity Centres: A Cross-Regional Study of Authoritarian Promotion and Diffusion (co-authored with Marianne Kneuer, Routledge 2020, paperback 2021) presents cutting-edge findings on the international dimension of authoritarianism.

Abstract: There is a scholarly consensus that the countries of the Arabian Peninsula – particularly the Gulf monarchies – exhibit a clustering of autocratic governance. However, it would be fundamentally wrong to perceive this regime type as static. Gulf politics is instead shaped by dynamic and vivid discourses, including domestic debates on regime consolidation (that go well beyond pertinent factors like repression, cooptation et al.), regional efforts to forge a shared regime identity, and international networks that facilitate the diffusion of autocratic practices, ideas, and norms. While structural factors, such as shifts in the international order, play a role, I try to argue in my talk that the primary drivers of autocratization must be understood through the actions and perspectives of individual actors, i.e. the politically relevant elite.

Resource Curse, Authoritarian Elections and Opposition in Gulf Countries

Dr. Gail Buttorff  is Research Associate Professor, Hobby School of Public Affairs Associate Director, Center for Public Policy. Dr. Buttorff joined the Hobby School as a Visiting Assistant Professor in 2017. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from the University of Iowa. Her research interests focus on elections and gender and public policy in the Middle East and Gulf Cooperation Council countries, quantitative and survey methodologies. She is the author of Authoritarian Elections and Opposition Groups in the Arab World. Her work as also been published by Electoral Studies, Journal of Theoretical Politics, and by the Baker Institute for Public Policy, among others.

The New Green Autocrats: How Saudi Arabia and the UAE Redefine Environmental Leadership

Dr. Tobias Zumbrägel is a senior researcher and lecturer at the department for Human Geography at Heidelberg University. Prior to this, he worked at the center for excellence Climate, Climatic Change and Society (CLICCS) at the University of Hamburg where he is an associate fellow. He studied History, Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies in Cologne, Tuebingen and Cairo. and holds a Ph.D. from the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg. Zumbrägel is the author of Political Power and Environmental Sustainability in Gulf Monarchies (Palgrave 2022). His main research focuses on questions of legitimacy, power and state authority in the Middle East with a special interest in Political Ecology, Energy Policy, Sustainability and Political Economy.

Abstract: Especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are leveraging sustainability transformations as strategic tools to enhance domestic legitimacy and project international influence, promoting a model of ‘soft’ authoritarianism. By diversifying energy portfolios and positioning themselves as influential players in global climate policy, both countries aim to foster public consent and strengthen internal regime support. Internationally, they pursue outward-oriented legitimacy by aligning with Western sustainability ideals while collaborating with other authoritarian states to diffuse this model, particularly in developing countries. Through flagship initiatives like Saudi Arabia’s NEOM, the Middle East Green Initiative, and the UAE’s Masdar City, they serve as role models for sustainable development within an authoritarian framework. This approach blends environmental innovation with a new form of governance, advancing their soft power on the global stage.

The Role of Salafism in the National and International Politics of Gulf Monarchies

Kardo Rached is a lecturer at the University of Human Development UHD—Sulaimany and Dirctor of the Quality Assurance at UHD. He is also manager of the Turkish Studies Unit at Sbay Research Center – Sulaimany. He has published various articles, most recently: “State-Reconstruction: Iraq after ISIS as a Case Study.” Analecta 13.25 (2023); “Financing of non-state armed groups in the Middle East: Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) as a case study.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism (2022): 1-26; “Institutionalizing the Salafi Thoughts by the State: The Saudi Salafism as a Case.” Trames 25.2 (2021): 239-255; “United States: A Review of the US Middle East Policy from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton.” (2021); “Post-ISIS Era and the State Dissolution in the Middle East: Iraq as a Case.” Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies (2020); “Post-ISIS Iraq and the Shia Armed Groups.” Central European Journal of International & Security Studies 13.1 (2019); “Article Review of Islamic Mobilization: Social Movement Theory and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.” Canadian Social Science (2018); “Public diplomacy effort across Facebook: A comparative analysis of the US consulate in Erbil and the Kurdistan Representation in Washington.” Sage Open 8.1 (2018); “The Likelihood of a Durable Peace and Longstanding Stability in an Integrated Iraq in the Aftermath of the Military Defeat of the Islamic State (IS) Group.” The Journal for Interdisciplinary Middle Eastern Studies 3 (2018): 73.

Populism in Gulf Monarchies:  Suppression, Cooptation, Adoption

Dr. Kristin Diwan is a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Her current projects concern generational change, nationalism, and the evolution of Islamism in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Recent publications include “The New Industries:  Tourism and Entertainment in a Changing Saudi Arabia,” in Sfakianakis, ed,  The Economy of Saudi Arabia in the 21st Century (Oxford, 2024) and “Clerical associations in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates: soft power competition in Islamic politics,” International Affairs, 97.4 (2021): 945–963.   Diwan was previously an assistant professor at the American University School of International Service and has held visiting scholar positions at the George Washington University and Georgetown University. She received her PhD from Harvard University.

Abstract: Gulf monarchies are not immune to the global rise in populist movements, despite their wealth and generous welfare systems.  The adoption of austerity measures alongside the growing concentration of wealth in the hands of political and business elites is fueling a populist response, visible on social media and in Gulf parliaments.  In this talk I will look at examples of populist opposition and how royal leadership is countering it, through suppression, cooptation, and the adoption of populist rhetoric to advance their own ruling agendas.

Supporters await the arrival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a referendum rally in Istanbul on April 8, 2017. Photo: Thomas Koch.

Mapping Global Populism – Panel XVII: The Rise and Reign of Autocratic Populism and Islamist Nationalism in Turkey

by EventsPast Events

Date/Time: Thursday, November 28, 2024 — 15:00-17:10 (CET)

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Moderator

Dr. Jocelyne Cesari (Chair of Religion and Politics at the University of Birmingham (UK) and Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University).

Speakers

“In Search of the ‘Infant People’: Continuity and Rupture in Turkey’s Political Landscape,” Dr. Spyros Sofos (Assisstant Professor, Department of Global Humanities, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver).

“Populism in Transition: Continuities and Shifts in Turkey’s Political Landscape (2023-2024),” by Dr. Emre Erdogan (Professor of Political Science at Istanbul Bilgi University).

“Autocratic Practices of The Gendered Regime in Turkey,” by Hafza Girdap (Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Stony Brook University, New York).

“Erdogan’s Media Capture Strategies and Their Role in Founding and Consolidating Autocracy in Turkey,” by Ergun Babahan (Journalist, Former Editor-in-Chief of Sabah daily and Ahval news).

“Erdogan Regime as Emerging Sharp Power,” by Dr. Aleksandra Spancerska (Research Fellow at the Polish Institute of International Affairs).

 

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Brief Biographies and Abstracts

Professor Jocelyne 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 (Book Award of the Scientific Society for the Study of Religion). 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

In Search of the ‘Infant People’: Continuity and Rupture in Turkey’s Political Landscape

Dr. Spyros Sofos is Assistant Professor in Global Humanities at Simon Fraser University, Canada. He has held academic positions in the UK, Sweden, and Italy, including at Lund University and the London School of Economics. His research examines the intersection of societal insecurity, identity, and collective action, with a focus on Turkish politics, nationalism, populism, European Muslim identities, and populism theory. His latest book, Turkish Politics and ‘The People’: Mass Mobilisation and Populism (Edinburgh University Press, 2022), traces the genealogy of populism in contemporary Turkey. He is the founder and lead editor of #RethinkingPopulism, originally launched in collaboration with openDemocracy.

Abstract: This talk explores the construction and evolution of the concept of “the people” in Turkey’s political discourse. It examines how ideas of popular identity have been historically used to support autocratic regimes, from Ataturk’s secularist rule in early republican Turkey to the tutelary democracies that followed his death and finally to the Islamist-nationalist populism of the present day. Central to this analysis is the metaphor of “the infant people,” a symbol embodying both innocence and helplessness. The talk highlights how political elites have alternately celebrated and patronized “the people,” portraying them as the rightful bearers of sovereignty while simultaneously deeming them unprepared to exercise their rights. This dual approach has fostered a flexible yet exclusionary narrative of nationhood—one that legitimizes authoritarian governance and deepens divisions between the people, their supposed guardians, and perceived enemies. By situating this analysis within broader discussions of populist authoritarianism in the Global South, the talk sheds light on the intersection of identity politics and power.

Populism in Transition: Continuities and Shifts in Turkey’s Political Landscape (2023-2024)

Dr. Emre Erdogan is a Professor at the Department of International Relations, Istanbul Bilgi University. With a doctoral degree in Political Science from Bogaziçi University, he has served as researcher and senior consultant in various projects in academia and civil society. His research focuses on political participation, foreign policy and public opinion, child and youth well-being, methodology and statistics. He extensively studies and publishes about youth in Turkey, integration of Syrian refugee youth in Turkey, othering, polarization and populism.

Abstract: This presentation examines the evolving dynamics of populism in Turkey, focusing on the 2023 presidential and 2024 local elections. It highlights the continuities and shifts in populist strategies, exploring how nationalist rhetoric, religious symbolism, and anti-elitist narratives have persisted as central pillars of political discourse. Simultaneously, the presentation delves into significant changes, such as the impact of economic challenges, the rise of new populist actors, and the opposition’s adoption of populist tactics to counter the ruling party. By analyzing these trends, the study reveals how populism has reshaped Turkey’s political and social landscape over the past two years. It addresses critical themes, including heightened polarization, the strategic use of media, and the enduring focus on identity politics. Special attention will be given to how crises like economic instability and natural disasters have influenced populist rhetoric and voter behavior. The presentation aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between continuity and change in Turkish populism, offering insights into its implications for democracy and governance. Through this lens, the audience will gain a nuanced perspective on the strategies employed by political actors and the broader socio-political consequences of rising populism in Turkey.

Autocratic Practices of the Gendered Regime in Turkey

Hafza Girdap is an adjunct lecturer in Women’s and Gender Studies at Stony Brook University, New York, where she is also a Ph.D. candidate. She is the spokesperson and program director at Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST) and a founding member of Set Them Free, focusing on addressing women’s rights violations in Turkey. Girdap’s research examines human rights and the lives of Muslim women, particularly immigrant women’s experiences of integration and cultural identity. Her doctoral work explores self-identification and gendered racialization among immigrant women from Turkey in the US. Beyond academia, Girdap collaborates with research institutes on gender studies, incorporating the voices of women from non-Western contexts. Living in the US since 2016 due to political persecution, she has organized and spoken at UN panels on women’s issues, mentors youth, and runs online global book clubs that address women’s and youth empowerment.

Abstract: This presentation examines how patriarchy, nationalism, and political Islam intersect to shape women’s status and rights in Turkey, with a specific focus on the Justice and Development Party (AKP) era. Both secular and political Islamist patriarchies impose traditional roles on women, while Sunni nationalist hegemony marginalizes not only ethnic minorities, non-Sunni groups, and LGBTQ+ individuals but also those who fall outside the established identity of the mainstream political framework. Drawing on Islamist discourse, I will explore how the AKP has employed state policies and discursive language to regulate women’s status and justify systemic oppression. These dynamics underscore the gendered dimensions of Turkey’s autocratic regime, where authoritarian practices perpetuate systemic violence and inequality.

Erdogan’s Media Capture Strategies and Their Role in Founding and Consolidating Autocracy in Turkey

Ergun Babahan, born in Izmir, Turkey, in 1960, is a senior Turkish journalist. He studied law at Istanbul University, graduating in 1981. After practicing law for a year, he chose journalism as his profession. Over the years, he has worked in various prominent newspapers, including Yeni Asir, Soz, Hurriyet, Sabah, Aksam, and Star, serving as a reporter, editor, managing editor, editor-in-chief, and columnist. As editor-in-chief of Sabah, then Turkey’s second-largest newspaper, he successfully led the publication out of bankruptcy. Mr. Babahan has also enriched his professional experience internationally, attending the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship Program at Stanford University through a scholarship from the German Marshall Fund. Additionally, he participated in a seminar on the American Foreign Policy Process at the University of Maryland, supported by the Ford Foundation.

Abstract: Erdogan once remarked to me, “The media does not bring you to power, but it can easily take you out of power.” This insight shaped his determination to control the media from the beginning of his political career. Having endured significant challenges from a media landscape under the influence of the military tutelage regime, Erdogan sought not to create an independent media but rather to make the media entirely subservient to his authority. He achieved this by exploiting conflicts among media proprietors and leveraging the state’s financial and legal resources. Today, no media structure in Turkey operates independently of Erdogan’s influence—not even outlets that label themselves as opposition. Turkey’s historical tradition of media servitude to those in power has significantly facilitated this process. Erdogan’s unprecedented control over the media now rivals the dominance once held by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and the architects of military coups, shaping what he terms as “truth.” In this presentation, I will explore why the emergence of an independent media is virtually impossible in a society where reverence for state authority and wealth is deeply ingrained.

Erdogan Regime as Emerging Sharp Power

Dr. Aleksandra Maria Spancerska is a research fellow on Türkiye in the Middle East and Africa Programme. She graduated in international cultural studies and international relations with an oriental specialisation from the Faculty of International and Political Studies at the University of Lodz. She received her PhD in 2024 in the field of social sciences in the discipline of political science and administration. She conducts research on Turkish domestic and foreign policy. She speaks English and Turkish.

Abstract: The concept of sharp power represents a novelty in the study of international relations. It was introduced into scholarly discourse by Christopher Walker and Jessica Ludwig in 2017 at the International Forum for Democratic Studies. The purpose of the speech is to indicate the different areas of Türkiye’s activity in the international forum in terms of sharp power. In my speech I will focus in particular on: technology, modern forms of censorship, political dissidents, and the Turkish diaspora abroad.

llustration by Spiral Design for International Nelson Mandela Day, via Shutterstock.

ECPS Book Talk: Remembering Democracy and Peace Building Process of South Africa in the Context of Global Political Climate

by ECPS YouthEventsPast Events

Date/Time: Wednesday, November 20, 2024 – 18:00 (CET)

 

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Speaker

Revd. Dr. Liz Carmichael (Emeritus Fellow at St John’s College, Oxford)

Discussants

Dr. Henning Melber (Extraordinary Professor at the Department of Political Sciences/University of Pretoria and the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies/University of the Free State in Bloemfontein and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London).

Dr. Palesa Nqambaza (Postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand and a Visiting Research Fellow in the School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of Science at the University of Leeds).

Organizator and Presenter

Neo Sithole (Non-resident Research Fellow at ECPS Foreign Policy Research Group. Ph.D. researcher at the University of Szeged, Hungary).

 

Objective

In a time when democracies are being tested, understanding how peace-building and democratic transitions succeed is more crucial than ever to remember and think collectively about the democratisation process, ECPS invites you to join the talk to explore Dr. Liz Carmichael’s Peacemaking and Peacebuilding in South Africa: The National Peace Accord, 1991-1994.

The case of South Africa in negotiating peace and democracy teaches us about resilience and unity and has global significance, especially in today’s world. Thus, this book is more than a historical account. It provides timeless insights into how diverse communities, including businesses, civil groups, religious organizations, and political parties, overcame political violence and fostered a shared vision of national peace. Carmichael shows that even in deeply divided societies, peace and democratization are only possible when carried by the people and not as top-down government projects.

Brief Biographies

Revd. Dr. Liz Carmichael MBE is an Emeritus Fellow at St John’s College, Oxford. Born in England, Liz was a doctor at Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto 1975-1981, then studied Theology at Oxford and worked in the Anglican Diocese of Johannesburg 1991-1996, being ordained priest and serving on peace committees under the National Peace Accord. She was Chaplain and Tutor in Theology at St John’s College 1996 -2011, and then held an Emeritus Research Fellowship, 2011-2023, which enabled her to research and write Peacemaking and Peacebuilding in South Africa. The National Peace Accord 1991-1994.

Dr. Henning Melber is an Extraordinary Professor at the Department of Political Sciences/University of Pretoria and the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies/University of the Free State in Bloemfontein and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London. Melber came to Namibia as a son of German immigrants in 1967, where he joined the anticolonial movement SWAPO in 1974. He was Director of The Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit in Windhoek, Research Director of the Nordic Africa Institute and Director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, both in Uppsala/Sweden.

Dr. Palesa Nqambaza is a scholar specializing in gender studies, political theory, and African philosophy. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand and a Visiting Research Fellow in the School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of Science at the University of Leeds. Dr Nqambaza’s research engages deeply with contemporary South African politics through cultural expressions, particularly the Amapiano music genre, which she explores as a lens for understanding the socio-political perspectives of young South Africans post-1994. 

Neo Sithole is a non-resident research fellow at ECPS Foreign Policy Research Group. His Ph.D. at the University of Szeged, Hungary, examines the history and trends of populism and political communication in sub-Saharan Africa. Sithole has contributed to publications on democracy, the influence of populism on Western liberal democracies, democratic legitimation and populism possibilities for alternative kinds of democratic imaginings. His academic interests span African and European populism, Afro-European diplomacy, foreign policy, regional and global security, and promoting international solidarity. Sithole also serves as an ambassador for the Doktoranduszok Országos Szövetsége (DOSZ), the Hungarian Association of Doctoral Students, working to foster an inclusive and integrated scientific community.

 

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In this AI-generated image, US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump appear. Photo: Shutterstock.

ECPS Panel: What Do the US Election Results Tell Us About the Global Trajectory of Populism?

by EventsPast Events

Date/Time: Thursday, November 14, 2024 — 15:00-17:00 (CET)

 

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Moderator

Ali H. Aslan (Washington-based Senior Journalist, Former Washington Correspondent & Columnist of Zaman Daily).

Speakers

“It Was (Mostly) the Economy, Stupid: Explaining Trump’s Victory,” by Dr. Alan Abramowitz (Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Emory University).

“Explaining the US Election Outcome and Its Implications for Global Populism,” by Dr. Jennifer McCoy (Regent’s Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University; Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace & Research Affiliate at CEU’s Democracy Institute in Budapest).

“The Role of White Evangelicals in the 2024 US Presidential Election: What We Know So Far,” by Dr. Marcia Pally (Professor at New York University, the Mercator Guest Professorship in the theology department at Humboldt University-Berlin).

“Does Trumpism Cross the Atlantic?” by Dr. Mabel Berezin (Distinguished Professor of Arts & Sciences in Sociology and Director of the Institute for European Studies at Cornell University). 

“The Return of Trump and the Future of Global Democracy,” by Dr. Marina Nord (Postdoctoral research fellow at the V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg).

 

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Bios and Abstracts

Ali H. Aslan is a Washington-based Senior Journalist, Former Washington Correspondent & Columnist of Zaman Daily. Aslan, who was born in Turkey, holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Turkey’s prestigious Bogazici (Bosporus) University. Immediately after college, he started a 27-year journalism career at Zaman newspaper. Having assumed various duties at Zaman Istanbul headquarters including Deputy News Editor, he was assigned as Washington Correspondent of Zaman in 1997. He also wrote weekly columns for Zaman and its English language affiliate Today’s Zaman until they were forcibly taken over by Turkish government in 2016. Specialized in international relations with a focus on US, Turkey and the Middle East, Aslan’s work also appeared occasionally on US publications such as Foreign Policy and European Affairs.

It Was (Mostly) the Economy, Stupid: Explaining Trump’s Victory

Dr. Alan Abramowitz is the Alben W. Barkley Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Emory College of Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on American politics, political parties, elections, and voting behavior. His current work examines party realignment in the U.S. and its impact on presidential and congressional elections.

Abstract: In my presentation, I will discuss how and why Donald Trump managed to win a decisive victory over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.  I will argue that Trump won the election despite having a higher unfavorable than favorable rating among the electorate, being perceived as too extreme by a majority of voters and supporting unpopular policies on a number of important issues including abortion, health care and climate change. They key to Trump’s victory was that the incumbent Democratic president was deeply unpopular.  Kamala Harris simply could not overcome being closely connected with that incumbent as the candidate of the president’s party and as the sitting vice-president. Nevertheless, Trump’s serious flaws as a candidate allowed Harris to outperform the normal expectations for the candidate from the incumbent party with a deeply unpopular leader. 

Harris’s defeat followed a pattern that has been seen across western democracies in the aftermath of the 2020-2021 Covid pandemic—widespread discontent with high inflation and other economic problems leading to the defeat of incumbent parties of both the left and right.  I will argue that claims that the 2024 election may presage a realignment of the American party system because of increased support for the Republican candidate among nonwhite voters are premature.  We have seen claims like this before after the 1972, 1984, and 2004 elections and they proved incorrect.  Donald Trump is likely to be as unpopular in his second term as he was in his first and Democrats should be well positioned to make gains in the 2026 midterm elections and in 2028 when Trump will be ineligible to run again. 

The Role of White Evangelicals in the 2024 US Presidential Election: What We Know So Far

Dr. Marcia Pally is a Professor at New York University and has held the Mercator Professorship in the Theology Faculty at Humboldt University, Berlin. She continues to serve there as an annual guest professor and is a member of the Center for Interreligious Theology and Religious Studies and the Berlin Institute for Public Theology. In 2019-2020, she was a Fellow at the Center for Theological Inquiry (Princeton). Her recent books include: White Evangelicals and Right-wing Populism: How Did We Get Here?; From This Broken Hill I Sing to You: God, Sex, and Politics in the Work of Leonard Cohen; Commonwealth and Covenant: Economics, Politics, and Theologies of Relationality; America’s New Evangelicals: Expanding the Vision of the Common Good.

Abstract: This presentation will first review the religious and historical factors along with the current conditions that have positioned many white evangelicals for right-wing populist positions and to vote for candidates they believe hold those positions. It will then look at tallies in the US presidential and key state elections and discuss the results (i) for the US presidency, (ii) the composition of federal and state legislative and judicial bodies (iii) speculatively, US influence abroad.

Does Trumpism Cross the Atlantic?

Dr. Mabel Berezin is Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Sociology and Director of the Institute for Europeans Studies at Cornell University.  She writes on challenges to democratic cohesion and solidarity in Europe and the United States.  She is working on The End of Security and the Rise of Populism under contract at Oxford that examines the current global resurgence of nationalism and the populist challenge to democratic practice.

Abstract:  Whether Trump wins or loses, Trumpism is with us in the United States.  But to what extent does it have a transnational appeal, or to what extent does it influence right wing populists across the globe.  My argument is that the political culture of the US does not translate easily to the European context.  American political culture has a deeply  individualist cast that makes for American exceptionalism in a good and bad way.  My talk will explore American differences in light of the outcome of the presidential election.  My main point will be that it will inspire and embolden some parts of the European right and not be relevant to others—except of course that everyone will have to recognize and engage diplomatically with whomever the American president is.

Explaining the US Election Outcome and Its Implications for Global Populism

Dr. Jennifer McCoy is Regent’s Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University and Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as well as Research Affiliate at CEU’s Democracy Institute in Budapest. She was named a 2024 Andrew Carnegie Fellow for her project, “Mitigating Pernicious Polarization through Innovative Civic Educational Interventions.” Her current book project is Depolarizing Politics with Murat Somer, under contract with Princeton University Press. Her latest volume is Polarizing Polities: A Global Threat to Democracy, co-edited with Murat Somer (2019).

Dr. McCoy’s areas of expertise include democratic resilience, democratic erosion and partisan polarization; crisis prevention and conflict resolution; democracy promotion and collective defense of democracy; election processes and international election observation; and Latin American Politics. McCoy served as Director of the Carter Center’s Americas Program (1998-2015), leading projects on democratic strengthening, mediation and dialogue, and hemispheric cooperation. She has authored or edited six books and dozens of articles.

The Return of Trump and the Future of Global Democracy

Dr. Marina Nord is a postdoctoral research fellow at the V-Dem Institute (University of Gothenburg), and a member of the German research network ‘External Democracy Promotion’. Her research focuses on explaining autocratization and democratization processes, and interplay between economic processes and political transformation. Before joining the V-Dem Institute, she worked on several research projects at the Hertie School and at the German Institute for Economic Research, where she became passionate about bridging the gap between academic research and policy domains.

Abstract: What does the outcome of the US presidential election mean for the future of global democracy? As politics has become more polarized over the last decades, the outcome of the US presidential election is perceived as increasingly high stakes for the future of democracy worldwide. This presentation will give broader context to the story of global democracy and discuss the possible implications of a second Trump administration for the future of liberalism, democratic norms, polarization, and deliberation worldwide.

EP

ECPS Panel: Transatlantic Outlook on Populism in the US and Europe in Light of the ECPS 2024 Report on the EP Elections

by EventsPast Events

Date/Time: November 7, 2024 — 15:00-17:00 CET.

Venue: European Parliament’s Spaak Building in Brussels / Room: P5B001.

 

This event is hosted by MEP Radan Kanev in cooperation with the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS)

 

Moderator

Dr. Simon P. WATMOUGH (Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Leipzig in Germany and a Non-resident Research Fellow at ECPS).

Speakers

“Opening Remarks” by Irina VON WIESE (Honorary President of the ECPS).

Welcome and Keynote Speech by Radan KANEV (Member of EP, EPP) on “EU Elections and the Fragmentation of the Right-wing Populism: ‘Normalisation’ vs ‘Cordon Sanitaire’.”

Keynote Address by Nathalie LOISEAU (Member of EP, Renew) on “A Transatlantic Perspective on the New Composition of the EP and Upcoming Administration in the US, Challenges of Populist Politics and Its Repercussions on the Relations between the US and EU.”

Presentation of the ECPS Report

“2024 EP Elections under the Shadow of Rising Populism,” by Dr. Emilia ZANKINA (Editor of the Report, ECPS Advisory Board Member, Temple University-Rome) and Dr. Gilles IVALDI (Editor of the Report, ECPS Advisory Board Member, Centre de Recherches Politiques de Sciences Po).

Objective

This event will examine the impact of populist politics on the 2024 European Parliament and US presidential elections. The ECPS report provides an analysis of populist party performance in the 2024 European elections, featuring insights from country experts on outcomes across the EU’s 27 member states. Additionally, it highlights the broader challenges that populist successes pose for the EU’s future. The report’s findings will be presented along with an analysis of the potential directions of the upcoming US administration, setting the stage for a discussion on the future of transatlantic relations.

 

Brief Biographies

Dr. Simon P. WATMOUGH is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Leipzig in Germany and a non-resident research fellow in the research program on authoritarianism at ECPS. He was awarded his Ph.D. from the European University Institute in April 2017 with a dissertation titled “Democracy in the Shadow of the Deep State: Guardian Hybrid Regimes in Turkey and Thailand.” Dr. Watmough’s research interests sit at the intersection of global and comparative politics and include varieties of post-authoritarian states, the political sociology of the state, the role of the military in regime change, and the foreign policy of post-authoritarian states in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. His work has been published in Politics, Religion & Ideology, Urban Studies and Turkish Review. Since 2005, Dr. Watmough has taught international relations, diplomacy, foreign policy, and security studies, as well as Middle Eastern history at universities in Australia and Europe. In 2010–11 he was a research fellow at the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at the London School of Economics. He has held Visiting Scholar positions at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul (2012), the University of Queensland (2013), Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand (2014) and the University of Graz (2017). In addition to his academic publications, he is also a regular contributor to The Conversation and other media outlets.

Irina VON WIESE was born in Germany, the daughter and granddaughter of Polish and Russian refugees. After completing her law studies in Cologne, Geneva and Munich, she obtained a scholarship to study at the Harvard Kennedy School where she gained a Master in Public Administration. Her subsequent legal training took her to Berlin, Brussels and Bangkok, and gave her a first insight into the plight of refugees and civil rights defenders across the globe. From 1997 to 2019, Irina lived and worked as a lawyer in private and public sector positions in London. During this time, she volunteered for human rights organisations, advising on migration policy and hosting refugees in her home for many years. In 2019, Irina was elected to represent UK Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament. She served as Vice Chair of the Human Rights Subcommittee and as a member of the cross-party Working Group on Responsible Business Conduct. The Group’s main achievement was the introduction of EU legislation to make human rights due diligence mandatory in global supply chains. During her term, she was also elected to the Executive Committee of the European Endowment for Democracy, whose task is to support grassroots civil society initiatives in fragile democracies. Having lost her seat in the European Parliament after the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, Irina returned to the UK, where she was elected to the Council of Southwark, one of London’s most diverse boroughs. Her links to Brussels are maintained through an advisory role at FGS Global, where she works on EU law and ESG issues. In addition, Irina is an Affiliate Professor at European business school, the ESCP, teaching international law and politics (including a course entitled ‘Liberalism and Populism’).

Radan KANEV is a Bulgarian politician who is currently a Member of the European Parliament. A member of the DSB party, which he led from 2013 to 2017, he previously served as Member of the National Assembly from 2014 to 2017. At the 2024 European Parliament election, Kanev was re-elected to the European Parliament. Despite being placed fifth on the PP-DB coalition list, which only won three seats, Kanev was able to receive more preference votes than candidates placed above him. Subsequently, he was to serve 5 more years as an MEP.

Nathalie LOISEAU is a French politician, diplomat, and academic administrator who has served as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. Previously, she was the director of the École nationale d’administration (ENA) from 2012 to 2017 and served as France’s Minister for European Affairs from June 21, 2017, to March 27, 2019. She was the lead candidate for the La République En Marche electoral list in the 2019 European elections. She has since been a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the chairwoman of its Subcommittee on Security and Defense. In 2020, she also joined the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union.

Dr. Gilles IVALDI is researcher in politics at CEVIPOF and professor at Sciences Po Paris. His main research interests include French politics, parties and elections, the far right, and the comparative study of populism in Europe and the United-States. Dr. Ivaldi is the author of De Le Pen à Trump: le défi populiste (Bruxelles: Editions de l’Université de Bruxelles, 2019), The 2017 French Presidential Elections. A political Reformation? 2018, Palgrave MacMillan, with Jocelyn Evans. He has recently co-edited The Impacts of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine on Right-Wing Populism in Europe, European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS), 2023, with Emilia Zankina. His research has appeared in journals such as Electoral Studies, the International Journal of Forecasting, Revue Européenne des Sciences Sociales, French Politics, Revue Française de Science Politique or Political Research Quarterly.

Dr. Emilia ZANKINA is an Associate Professor in Political Science, Vice Provost for Global Engagement of Temple University, and Dean of Temple University Rome campus. She holds a Ph.D. in International Affairs and a Certificate in Advanced East European Studies from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research examines populism and political parties, East European politics, civil service reform, and gender political representation. She has published in reputable journals and presses such as West European Politics, Politics and Gender, East European Politics, Problems of Post-communism, Representation, ECPR Press, Indiana Press, and more. She frequently serves as an expert for Freedom House, V-Democracy, and EU commission projects. In the past, Zankina has served as Provost of the American University in Bulgaria, Associate Director of the Center for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, Managing Editor of East European Politics and Societies, and Editor-in-Chief of the Newsletter of the Bulgarian Studies Association. She is the recipient of a number of US national grants from IREX, ACLS, American Councils, Wilson Center, and more. 

Digital

Hybrid Workshop: Authoritarian Information Manipulation and Dissemination — National, Transnational, and International Perspectives

by AuthoritarianismDigital-populismPast Events

Date/Venue: November 7-8, 2024 — Deakin Burwood Corporate Centre (BCC)

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The emergence of repressive and authoritarian “hybrid regimes” poses one of the most significant threats to democracy today. These regimes and authoritarian actors wield information suppression and manipulation as essential tools to disseminate narratives that erode democratic institutions. This issue transcends national borders; digital technologies now enable authoritarian states to infiltrate robust democracies, allowing them to project their authoritarian narratives globally. The transnationalization of authoritarian politics, facilitated by digital technologies, presents substantial challenges to the integrity of democratic processes and institutions.

In response to these challenges, our workshop aims to investigate how various actors—governments, non-state organizations, state-sponsored entities, and political parties—suppress and manipulate information to erode trust in democratic processes, both domestically and internationally. The workshop will also examine the darker dimensions of social media, focusing on the interactions between misinformation, negativity, and polarization.

The workshop, a collaborative effort organized by the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI) at Deakin University, Australia, and the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS) in Brussels, Belgium, will also address strategies to counter misinformation and disinformation, along with intervention techniques to mitigate their impacts. It will focus on countering disinformation through activism and explore everyday online experiences with misinformation, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based media literacy education initiatives. Additionally, the event will discuss necessary curricular reforms to combat disinformation, toxicity, and polarization in educational contexts, as well as the responses of political elites to conspiracy theories.

The organizing team, led by Professor Ihsan Yilmaz, encourages all participants to actively engage in discussions and share insights throughout the workshop. The aim of the workshop, funded by the Australian Political Studies Association (APSA), the Australian Research Council (ARC), and the Gerda Henkel Foundation, is to deepen the understanding of these critical issues and explore collaborative strategies to combat misinformation and disinformation in our increasingly complex digital environment.

For registration:

 

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Thousands of people demonstrated in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, on April 13, 2024, demanding the withdrawal of a controversial "foreign influence" bill, which they claim is inspired by authoritarian laws used by neighboring Russia to suppress dissent. Photo: George Khelashvili.

Mapping Global Populism — Panel XVI:  The Challenging Dynamics of Democracy, Authoritarianism & Populism in Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan & Georgia)

by EventsPast Events

Date/Time: Thursday, October 31, 2024 — 15:00-17:30 (CET)

 

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Moderator

Dr. Cengiz Aktar (Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Athens and Advisory Board Member of ECPS).

Speakers

“The State of Democracy and Populism in Armenia,” by Dr. Nerses Kopalyan (Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas).

“Populism Against Post-war Armenia’s Democratization and European Integration,” by Dr. Ashot S. Aleksanyan (Professor, Chair of Political Science, Faculty of International Relations at Yerevan State University).

“Hegemonic Authoritarianism in Azerbaijan,” by Dr. Jody LaPorte (Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, Oxford).

“Autocracy in Azerbaijan and Its Regional Implications,” by Thomas de Waal (Senior Fellow with Carnegie Europe, specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region).

“From Technocratic Facade to Right-Wing Reality: The Evolution of Populism in Georgia,” by Dr. David Aprasidze (Professor of Political Science at Ilia State University).

“The Rotating Populist Discourses of the Post-Soviet Georgia – From the Nationalist Populism to the Conservative Populism,” Dr. David Matsaberidze (Associate Professor at Department of International Relations, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University).

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Bios and Abstracts

Dr. Cengiz Aktar is an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Athens and ECPS Advisory Board member. He is a former director at the United Nations specializing in asylum policies. He is known to be one of the leading advocates of Turkey’s integration into the EU. He was the Chair of European Studies at Bahçeşehir University-Istanbul. In 1999, Professor Aktar initiated a civil initiative for Istanbul’s candidacy for the title of European Capital of Culture. Istanbul successfully held the title in 2010. He also headed the initiative called “European Movement 2002” which pressured lawmakers to speed up political reforms necessary to begin the negotiation phase with the EU. In December 2008, he developed the idea of an online apology campaign addressed to Armenians and supported by a number of Turkish intellectuals as well as over 32,000 Turkish citizens. In addition to EU integration policies, Professor Aktar’s research focuses on the politics of memory regarding ethnic and religious minorities, the history of political centralism, and international refugee law.

The State of Democracy and Populism in Armenia

Dr. Nerses Kopalyan is an Associate Professor-in-Residence of Political Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His fields of specialization include international security, geopolitics, paradigm-building, and philosophy of science. He is the author of “World Political Systems After Polarity” (Routledge, 2017), the co-author of “Sex, Power, and Politics” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), co-author of “Latinos in Nevada: A Political, Social, and Economic Profile” (2021, Nevada University Press), and the upcoming “Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War (2025, Routledge). His current research and academic publication concentrate on geopolitical and great power relations within Eurasia, with specific emphasis on democratic breakthroughs within authoritarian orbits, and the confluence of security and democratic consolidation. He has authored several policy papers for the Government of Armenia and serves as voluntary advisor to numerous state institutions. Dr. Kopalyan is also a regular contributor to EVN Report.

Abstract: The contours of the concept of populism, and its intrinsic illiberal characteristics, have remained minimal and primarily have failed to take root in post-Velvet Revolution Armenia. Armenia’s democratic breakthrough, and its burgeoning democratic political culture, have served as important guardrails against the development of populism in the country’s political system. This has been buttressed by the country’s severe security environment, facing direct threats from neighboring Azerbaijan and continuous hybrid activities from Russia. As such, the Government’s commitment to democracy is qualified as an important instrument within its nascent security architecture, and in this context, the government has proceeded with a method of governing that has been defined by difficult and unpopular choices, as opposed to relying on the tenets of populism to garner public support. Highly pragmatic, yet unpopular decisions and policies by this Government offer a window into cogently understanding Armenia’s successful in avoiding the trappings of populism, which, in turn, has been strongly enhanced by three important variables: a strong civil society, democratic cultural syndromes, and an illiberal opposition seeking to reverse Armenia’s democratic gains.   

Populism Against Post-war Armenia’s Democratization and European Integration

Dr. Ashot S. Aleksanyan is Professor and Head of the Chair of Political Science of Faculty of International Relations, as well as Lecturer at the Center for European Studies of Yerevan State University. His main interests are civil society, social partnership, human political rights and freedoms. He has been a DAAD-Visiting Scientist at the Institute of Political Science of Leibniz University of Hannover (2002-2009), DAAD-Visiting Scientist at the Geschwister Scholl Institute of Political Science of Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich (2013) and the Institute for East European Studies of Free University of Berlin (2016), as well as the EU Erasmus Mundus «ALRAKIS» project Visiting Scientist at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (2012). Since 2016, he is an international fellow of the Institute of Political Science at the Institute of Political Science of the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.

Abstract: The Velvet Revolution of 2018 and the coming to power of the new prime minister Nikol Pashinyan became a real step towards democratization and deepening of the European political integration of Armenia.

Armenia is a small country and there was great hope that the activities of the new Armenian authorities in relation to the recognized guidelines and standards of consolidation of democracy (separation of powers, independence of the judiciary, transitional justice), it is clear that Pashinyan and his team were able to achieve a breakthrough and are more inclined to adhere to democratic rhetoric.

The 2020 armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh lasted from September 27 to November 9, practically shaping a new reality in both foreign and domestic policy dimensions.

The fundamental question is how dangerous is political populism in post-war Armenia? As the example of Armenia shows, unlimited political populism can lead to victims and tragedies on a national scale. What has happened in the state since 2020, and what was for the new authorities of Armenia and Prime Minister N. Pashinyan, as the opposition political parties of the post-war situation wanted to gradually lead the country to political chaos and populism.

After the tragic events of the 44-day war ended, populist movements began to accuse N. Pashinyan of populism, since the promises made to the people during the period of protest activity and the struggle for high office were not fulfilled. This and a number of related factors raise additional doubts and skepticism among members of Armenian civil society who have been observing the activities of the new people’s leader since the opposition’s victory in May 2018.

Since coming to power, the Prime Minister has been repeatedly accused of demagogy. One of the main opponents of the “icon of the velvet revolution” are former Presidents of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, who called the Prime Minister a populist.

What factors produced such unprecedented popular unrest to bring to power a new leader who embodied the discontent of the population? It is the hope for a new beginning, where lawlessness will be replaced by the rule of law, injustice by justice, and corruption by honest public officials.

Hegemonic Authoritarianism in Azerbaijan

Dr. Jody LaPorte is the Gonticas Fellow in Politics and International Relations at Lincoln College, University of Oxford. Previously, she served as a Departmental Lecturer in Politics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government. Her research focuses on the political and policymaking dynamics in non-democratic regimes, particularly in post-Soviet Eurasia. Dr. LaPorte holds a BA in Russian and East European Studies from Yale University and an MA and PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Before joining the Blavatnik School, she taught as a Departmental Lecturer in Comparative Government in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford.

Autocracy in Azerbaijan and Its Regional Implications

Tom de Waal is a senior fellow with Carnegie Europe, specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region. He is the author of numerous publications, most recently The End of the Near Abroad (Carnegie Europe/IWM, 2024). The second edition of his book The Caucasus: An Introduction (Oxford University Press) was published in 2018. He is also the author of Great Catastrophe: Armenians and Turks in the Shadow of Genocide (Oxford University Press, 2015) and of the authoritative book on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War (NYU Press, second edition 2013).

From 2010 to 2015, de Waal worked for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. Before that he worked extensively as a journalist in both print and for BBC radio. From 1993 to 1997, he worked in Moscow for the Moscow Times, the Times of London, and the Economist, specializing in Russian politics and the situation in Chechnya. He co-authored (with Carlotta Gall) the book Chechnya: Calamity in the Caucasus (NYU Press, 1997), for which the authors were awarded the James Cameron Prize for Distinguished Reporting.

From Technocratic Facade to Right-Wing Reality: The Evolution of Populism in Georgia

Dr. David Aprasidze is a Professor of Political Science at Ilia State University. He earned his Ph.D. from Hamburg University in Germany and was a Fulbright scholar at Duke University in North Carolina, USA. Over the years, he has worked with public agencies and international NGOs operating in Georgia. His expertise includes higher education management and reform, with a research focus on political transformation, democratization, and Europeanization.

Abstract: In recent years, Georgia has undergone a stark shift from being a champion of Europeanization and democratization to embracing anti-liberal, populist, and pro-Russian stances. The ruling party, Georgian Dream, led by the country’s richest businessman, Bidzina Ivanishvili, has governed since 2012. Initially, Ivanishvili emphasized technocratic governance, managing the state like a corporation. His party portrayed itself as left-centrist, focusing on addressing bread-and-butter issues while also maintaining Georgia’s commitment to European integration. However, amid growing domestic and international criticism for undermining democratic institutions, both Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream shifted toward openly anti-liberal and radical-conservative narratives. This turn included the introduction of anti-NGO and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, alongside a promotion of “traditional” and “religious” values, supposedly representing the majority. Georgian Dream has forged alliances with right-wing leaders like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Slovakia’s Robert Fico, but given Georgia’s non-EU status, the country is increasingly aligning itself with Russia. What began as technocratic populism – offering a façade of professionalism to mask authoritarian and oligarchic tendencies – has evolved. Now, Georgian Dream is transparent about its goals: to eliminate political opposition, silence critical civil society, and intimidate the public.

The Rotating Populist Discourses of the Post-Soviet Georgia – From the Nationalist Populism to the Conservative Populism

Dr. David Matsaberidze is an Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Ivane Javakishvili Tbilisi State University. He earned his PhD in Political Science from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University in 2015 and holds an MA in Nationalism and Ethnicity Studies from Central European University (2008). Between 2015 and 2017, Dr. Matsaberidze completed professional development programs in regional and international security at the George C. Marshall European Centre for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Since 2013, he has been a recurrent visiting expert with the Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes at the Austrian Ministry of Defense and Sports (Germany-Austria). From 2008 to 2014, he was a recipient of the Academic Fellowship Program under the International Higher Education Support Program of the Open Society Foundations.

Dr. Matsaberidze has authored 15 academic articles, 8 policy papers in international journals, and 2 books, along with 5 book chapters in English, focusing on democratic transitions, conflicts, nationalism, and security in the post-Soviet Caucasus, particularly in Georgia. His research has been conducted in collaboration with various academic and policy institutions in Germany, Austria, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Abstract: The prospective talk will deal with the rotating populist discourses of the post-Soviet Georgia and track the main lines of its transformation from the nationalist populism to the conservative populism. In Georgia, it is taken for granted that political leaders are populists because of their emphasis on charisma and personality. However, although circumstances favored the emergence of political populism and a populist discourse of persuasion was a widespread phenomenon, these developments were neither inevitable nor automatic. The case of Georgia attests that populism as a political discourse typically encompasses the charismatic leader, popular societal demands, strong nationalist component, and the usual affirmation of the common people by the elites and the text and talk of professional politicians, or political institutions, includes both the speaker and the audience. This is not only a discursive mode of making policy, but also shapes the overall political agenda and public opinion, which in turn legitimizes policy decision-making. Therefore, reflecting on discursive practices contributes not only to our understanding of customary political practices, but also to their relationship to the social and political context and its detailed properties, including the constraints on discourse itself.

The post-Soviet Georgian populism is a mixture of populism in policymaking and nationalism in ideology, that allows politicians to control the public discourse and public mind. The first president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, was a redemptive populist who wanted to free the Georgian nation from the Russian yoke, thereby responding to the anti-Soviet sentiments of the time. His successor, Eduard Shevardnadze, was a pragmatic populist who restored order and stability to the ransacked nation after the civil war and ethnic conflicts of the early 1990s by introducing a civil society discourse built on democratization and state-building. The third president, Mikheil Saakashvili, was an idealistic populist who used an idealist, pro-Western discourse to renew the Georgian nation through modernization and democratization in the mode of a Western, civic nation. Since 2012, a kind of loss of the national idea can be observed in the political discourse, as the populist discourses of President Giorgi Margvelashvili (2013-2018) and the incumbent prime minister clashed: The former defended the constitutional backbone of the state, i.e., a functioning democratic state for the people, while the latter propagated left-wing populism to restore dignity and ensure the social well-being of the people, which threatens the national idea. The prime minister’s discourse is more widely accepted in society because politics becomes personal in light of a leader who succeeded in defeating the so-called ‘brutal regime’ of the previous government (Ivanishvili vs. Saakashvili). This aspect is a constant feature of the rhetoric of the post-Saakashvili political leadership of the Georgian Dream party.

The conservative-populist turn since 2020 attests the transformation of the foreign policy rhetoric of the Georgian Dream government towards the EUrope. The demarcation-integration cleavages (Kriesi et al., 2008; 2012) appearing in the Georgian society have superseded the traditional Rokkanian cleavages (that have never been consistent in Georgia) and crystalized into the populist radical right-wing direction by the Georgian Dream party: constructing the Georgian people as a cultural unit confined within the Georgian nation-state and through its traditional-conservatist rhetoric indirectly undermining the idea of the regional/EaP European integration, whilst opposing the normative based approach of the EU/Brussels and siding with Orbán’s Budapest, that defends Christianity and traditional-Conservative society. This is the recent strategy of the ruling Georgian Dream, concentrated on politics of radicalization towards domestic (opposition) and external (Brussels) actors through the strategy of alternative or competitive discourse formation, filling in the empty signifier constantly through changing topics and rhetoric(s).

The political discourse of the Georgian Dream sets the new demarcation-integration cleavages: we – Georgia/Georgians – a sovereign nation-state, against any external interference in our will of free choice of domestic and foreign policies (although very vague and not clearly defined), pursued in the interest of the Georgian people (a very populist discourse and rhetoric). The chosen strategy of the Georgian Dream undermines any sort of the whole of society defense system to contain interference of authoritarian regimes in democracies and puts limits on any sort of new democracy promotion project on the Eastern borderlands of the EU, to be driven internally by local actors and supported externally by IOs and CSOs. This undermines any attempt of forming new international resilience via alignment of national resiliencies whose aim is to contain Russian/Eurasian turn to autocracy, while promoting and advancing Euro-Atlantic integration in the EaP countries.

Religious symbols on sand: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Orthodoxy Buddhism and Hinduism. Photo: Godong Photo.

Call for Papers – ECPS 4th Annual International Symposium / Civilizational Populism: National and International Challenges

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Date/Location: May 22-23, 2025 / Warsaw, Poland

Organizers

Prof. Jocelyn Cesari (The Chair of Religion and Politics at the University of Birmingham (UK) and Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University). 

Prof. Ihsan Yilmaz (Chair in Islamic Studies and research professor of political science and international relations at Deakin University’s Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation).

Prof. Ibrahim Ozturk (Professor of Economics at Duisburg-Essen University, Institute of East Asian Studies).

Dr. Ana-Maria Bliuc (Reader in Psychology, Psychology, School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law at University of Dundee).

 

Partner Institutions

European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS) (Brussels)

Centre for Europe, University of Warsaw (Warsaw)

Georgetown University (Washington DC)

University of Birmingham (Birmingham)

Deakin University (Melbourne)

DAAD / Cambridge University

In-East / University of Duisburg 

Centre for International Relations (Warsaw)

This two-day symposium will explore different aspects of the interplay between populism, religion, and civilizationism from local, national, transnational, international and global perspectives. Evaluating their combined impact on plural societies, intergroup relations, social cohesion and democratic institutions, the symposium will analyze how populists from diverse cultural, geographical, and political contexts both in Global North and Global South interact with and employ religion, civilizationism and digital technologies in their discourses and performances.

Thematic Overview

Populism has emerged as a defining feature of contemporary politics, exerting profound local, national, international, and global influences. Increasingly, it has become part and parcel of states’ transnational activities in constructing and reaching out to their “peoples” outside of their nation-state boundaries. The rise of digital technologies and the rapid advances in AI applications have only intensified the impact of populism, locally, transnationally and globally.

Often characterized as a “thin ideology,” populism operates alongside core/thick ideologies such as socialism, neoliberalism, racism, or religion, serving as a potent force for impacting emotions, mobilizing the masses, shaping public opinion and securing (or seizing) political power. Within this context, civilization —in some cases — serves as a metanarrative through which populists emphasize distinctions and escalate antagonistic relations among ‘the people” and ‘others,’ usually along religious lines. Civilizational populism not only employs the traditional ‘us’ versus ‘them’ rhetoric but also accentuates cultural, civilizational and religious identities, intensifying conflicts within, beyond and between nations. Civilizational populist discourses have also initiated discussions on transnationalism, south-south cooperation, globalization, and multipolarity, thereby potentially influencing international relations. 

In this new and rapidly changing context dominated by uncertainty on many levels, the symposium will focus on the complexity of populism not only from different disciplinary perspectives but also across multiple political, religious, and cultural groups beyond the North/South divide. The symposium also aims to provoke discussions on innovative ways to think about the policy implications of this complex phenomenon in cyberage. 

We welcome paper proposals from scholars, media experts, civil society actors and policymakers to contribute to this critically significant dialogue.

Themes include but are not limited to:

  • Civilizational populism in the Global South and the Global North (proposals about situations in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asia are particularly welcome).
  • Digital technologies, including the use of AI, and civilizational populism (e.g., new opportunities to communicate and politically mobilize and the implications for the future of civilizational populism).
  • Local, national and transnational dynamics of civilizational populism and their policy implications.
  • Impact of civilizational populism on intergroup emotions of different ethnoreligious and political groups in societies, social cohesion and civility.
  • The impact of civilizational populism in contexts of acute intergroup conflict, including political violence and war.
  • Authoritarianism, authoritarian state and non-state actors and their modes of promotion of civilizational populism.
  • Foreign policy, inter-state relations and civilizational populism.
  • Neo liberalism, market and civilizational populism.

Target Audience

Policymakers, academics, researchers, civil society organizations, and practitioners in political science, sociology, international relations, and public policy

Expected Outcomes

  • Nuanced and enhanced comprehension of civilizational populism.
  • Identification of best practices and policy recommendations for addressing its complex challenges.
  • Shaping a new research agenda in response to rapid and drastic changes in society and digital technologies, opportunities for networking and collaboration.
  • Publication of selected papers and proceedings to disseminate insights and findings.

Format

Keynote speeches.

Roundtable discussions.

Paper presentations.

Key Dates

  • Extended Deadline for Abstract Submission: 15 November 2024.
  • Notification of Acceptance: 15 December 2024.
  • Paper Draft and PowerPoint Presentation Submission: 15 April 2025.
  • Symposium Dates: 22-23 May 2025.

Submission Guidelines

  • Abstract (600-800 words) and bio submissions (300-400 words) are invited to explore the symposium’s themes. 
  • Submissions should include a clear methodology, theoretical framework, argument and potential contributions to the existing scholarship on populism. 
  • Please indicate the relevance of your research to the symposium themes and its overall focus.
  • Add a few keywords to your abstract.

Contact Information

For inquiries and submissions, please contact the Symposium Coordinator Prof. Ibrahim Ozturk at iozturk@populismstudies.org

We look forward to your contributions and the vibrant discussions ahead.

Sincerely,

Prof. Jocelyn Cesari

Prof. Ihsan Yilmaz

Prof. Ibrahim Ozturk

Dr. Ana-Maria Bliuc

An Afghan woman in a burqa and locals are seen on the streets of Kabul. Photo: Shutterstock.

Mapping Global Populism — Panel XV: Theocracy, Radicalism and Islamist/Secular Populism in Iran, Afghanistan & Tajikistan

by EventsPast Events

Date/Time: Thursday, September 26, 2024 — 15:00-17:10 (CET)

 

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Moderator

Dr. Simon P Watmough (Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Leipzig in Germany and a Non-resident Research Fellow at ECPS).

Speakers

“Counter-extremism and Authoritarian Governance in Tajikistan,” by Dr. Hélène Thibault (Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan).

“Radical Islamism vs Extremist Secular State in Tajikistan,” by Dr. Kathleen Collins (Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and a faculty affiliate in Islamic Studies at Minnesota University).

“The Taliban’s Totalitarian Regime: Governance, Extremism, and Control,”  by Dr. Zakia Adeli (Deputy Minister of Justice of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and a Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Kabul University (2018-2021) before joining East-West Center).

“Gender Dynamics and the Plight of Afghan Women under Taliban Rule,”  by Dr. Zahoor Ahmad Wani (Assistant Professor at Department of Political Science, School of Liberal and Creative Arts, Lovely Professional University).

“The Rise of Populism in Iran: Inequality, Class Conflict, and Nationalist Authoritarianism,” by Amir Hossein Mahdavi (Ph.D. candidate at Department of Political Science, University of Connecticut).

 

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Brief Biographies and Abstracts

Dr. Simon P. Watmough is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Leipzig in Germany and a non-resident research fellow in the research program on authoritarianism at ECPS. He was awarded his Ph.D. from the European University Institute in April 2017 with a dissertation titled “Democracy in the Shadow of the Deep State: Guardian Hybrid Regimes in Turkey and Thailand.” Dr. Watmough’s research interests sit at the intersection of global and comparative politics and include varieties of post-authoritarian states, the political sociology of the state, the role of the military in regime change, and the foreign policy of post-authoritarian states in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. His work has been published in Politics, Religion & Ideology, Urban Studies and Turkish Review.

Counter-extremism and Authoritarian Governance in Tajikistan

Dr. Hélène Thibault is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Nazarbayev University. Her research focuses on the politics of Central Asia as well as gender and religious identities. Recent publications include co-edited volumes Uyat and the Culture of Shame in Central Asia and The Political Economy of Education Research in Central Asia (open-access) at Palgrave. Current projects on the repatriation of Central Asian foreign terrorist fighters and the decriminalization of sex work in Central Asia are under way.

Radical Islamism vs Extremist Secular State in Tajikistan

Dr. Kathleen Collins is a Professor in the Department of Political Science and a faculty affiliate in Islamic Studies. She received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in Political Science with a focus on Russia and Muslim Eurasia. Collins received her B.A., summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa, with a dual major in Russian Language and Literature and Government and International Studies from the University of Notre Dame. She also studied Uzbek and Turkish in graduate school. Professor Collins is the author of Clan Politics and Regime Transition in Central Asia (Cambridge University Press), which won the Central Eurasian Studies Society Award for the Best Book in the Social Sciences on Central Eurasia, 2008. Her second book is Politicizing Islam in Central Asia: From the Russian Revolution to the Afghan and Syrian Jihads (Oxford University Press, 2023).

The Taliban’s Totalitarian Regime: Governance, Extremism, and Control

Dr. Zakia Adeli was the Deputy Minister of Justice of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and a Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Kabul University (2018-2021) before joining East-West Center. With more than ten years of master’s and bachelor’s degree teaching experience at Kabul University. She was a member of the Preparatory Contact Committee for Peace with the Taliban in 2019 in Doha, Qatar, and also served on many senior government commissions in the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, including the High Commission for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders of Afghanistan, High Council of Women of Afghanistan, High Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, Political Parties and Civil Society Commission of the Supreme National Reconciliation Council of Afghanistan, and The Commission on Women and Human Rights of the Supreme National Reconciliation Council of Afghanistan.

Dr. Adeli was a member of the leadership board of the Afghan Red Crescent Society from 2020 to 2021 and has played a key role in reviewing and rewriting the organization’s charter. From 2017 to 2021 she was the chairman of the research committee of the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Kabul University and from 2014 to 2017 she was the Dean of the Faculty of Political Science of Katib University. She was the head of the Department of Women Studies of the Andisheh Foundation (2015-2021) and carried out significant activities in promoting the capacity of women and gender equality in Afghanistan. In 2018, she designed and hosted the first National Conference on the Status of Women in Afghanistan, and was a member of the Central Committee for the 2018 National Consensus on Women for Peace.

Dr. Adeli worked as a Senior Officer at the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACCAR), a leading Danish organization in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003 and has also provided valuable services to Afghan immigrants in Iran, including designing and establishing the first public library for immigrants in Iran with the help of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), securing admission for 300 needy Afghan immigrant students to Birjand University, and establishing and managing a refugee cultural complex in Iran.

Dr. Adeli also served as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Negah-e Moaser, Editor-in-Chief of Contemporary Thought, Katib Magazine and a member of the editorial board of Katib, Foreign Policy and Middle East Studies from 2013 to 2021. She is the author of three books: UN Security Council and Afghanistan Developments (2007), Postcolonial Situation and the Multiplicity of Afghan Constitutions (2015), and First National Conference pamphlet on Studying the Status of Women in Afghanistan (2009). Dr. Adeli has also written more than thirty scientific articles including: Investigating the Convergence Factors of Afghanistan and South Asian Countries (Foreign Policy Quarterly, 2020), Evolution of diplomacy in Islam and international law (Scientific Journal of Kabul University, 2017), A Comparative Study of the Electoral Laws of Afghanistan in 1964 and 1985 (Quarterly Journal of Contemporary Thought, 2016), Typology of Afghan Constitutions in the Light of the Constitutions (Middle East Research Quarterly, 2016), Pathology of Democracy in Afghanistan (Katib University Quarterly, 2015), UN Security Council Perspectives on the Role of Women in Peace (Foreign Ministry Strategic Studies Quarterly, 2014), The fragility of democracy in Afghanistan (Zahir Shah period and the new period) (Journal of International Relations Research, 2013), How to hold women back from the post-colonial perspective, (World Summit on Women and the Islamic Awakening, 2012), and Good Governance in Farabi Thought (Scientific Journal of Islamic Azad University, 2005).

Abstract: The Taliban’s regime exemplifies a totalitarian system. The consolidation of power and control is facilitated through the instrumental usage of religion. Democratic institutions were dismantled by the Taliban, who replaced them with a centralized non-electoral system led by one authority. The Taliban’s totalitarian regime is characterized by eliminating opposition groups and political parties, suppression of civil society and media, limiting freedoms, and interference in private life. Under the Taliban regime, women face severe restrictions on their rights, such as limitations on education, employment, and even dress code. The eradication of customs such as Nawroz celebration and music, along with imposing the ruler’s language, demonstrates the elimination of cultural manifestations. The presentation analyzes these elements and their influence on governance and life during the Taliban regime.

Gender Dynamics and the Plight of Afghan Women under Taliban Rule

Dr. Zahoor Ahmad Wani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, Punjab and a Deputy Editor of South Asia Research (SAGE). He obtained his PhD (2018) from the Central University of Gujarat on the dynamics of the geopolitical triangle involving India, Pakistan and Afghanistan since 2001. His areas of teaching and specialisation, apart from Kashmir Studies, include international politics, political theory and north-western South Asia. He has written about Afghanistan’s Taliban Puzzle, geopolitics of Afghanistan-India-Pakistan triangle, critical theory and Gender and neo-liberalism. 

Abstract: After a prolonged armed conflict with the USA-led NATO forces, which lasted twenty years, the Taliban re-took power and authority in Afghanistan in August 2021, removing NATO and the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and immediately declaring Afghanistan an Islamic Emirate. This article examines the impacts of this change of guard in Kabul, specifically analysing the changed condition of Afghan women, the primary victims of this regime change, which is symbolic as well as harshly real. The article argues that the Taliban reconstructs ethno-religious state fundamentally undermines women’s rights and freedoms, confining them to a subordinate status and radically affecting their quality of life. While challenging the normalised form of state because of their ideological rigidity, exclusivity and political conservatism, the Taliban’s unconstitutionally and repressive way of re-establishing its rule and authority to achieve political objectives determines how civilians live their lives, particularly women through their constructed structures, norms and practices of rule. Women who are peacefully protesting for their rights while marching through the streets of Kabul and other neighboring cities are being arrested and beaten as a result of the Taliban’s strict laws and practices.   

The Rise of Populism in Iran: Inequality, Class Conflict, and Nationalist Authoritarianism

Amir Mahdavi is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Connecticut. His research focuses on the political economy of authoritarian regimes, with an emphasis on the Middle East. He holds two master’s degrees, one in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University and another in History from Brandeis University. In addition to publishing a book chapter and two peer-reviewed journal articles, his analyses of political affairs have appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, Foreign Affairs, and Al-Monitor. Before pursuing graduate studies in the US, he worked as a journalist and editor in Iran.

Abstract: What dynamics of Iran’s sociopolitical climate contribute to the rise of populism? I argue that distributive desires, stemming from inequality-based class conflict, and the widespread demand for a nationalist, authoritarian order serve as the respective foundations for left- and right-wing populism in Iran. Two major factors fueling leftist-populist discourse include the unprecedented rise in impoverished populations over the past five years and extreme income inequality, with the ratio between the top 1% and the bottom 10% being higher than in most developed nations, approaching levels seen in the United States. Additionally, the government’s growing inability to deliver public services, along with the failure of major political factions to improve state functionality, has paved the way for right-wing nationalist populist platforms.

Photo: Nico El-Nino.

International Conference on ‘Digital Complexity and Disinformation in the Indo-Pacific’

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We are pleased to announce that the International Conference on ‘Digital Complexity and Disinformation in the Indo-Pacific’ is scheduled to take place on September 25-26, 2024, both online via Zoom and in person in Melbourne. This significant conference is a collaborative effort organized by the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI) at Deakin University, Australia; the Department of Communication Sciences at Universitas Indonesia (UI); the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN); the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM); the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM); the Department of Political Science at Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM); the State Islamic University (UIN) Salatiga; and the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS) in Brussels, Belgium.

While digital technologies have revolutionized many aspects of our societies, the promises of inclusivity and progress they bring often do not align with the realities on the ground. These technologies are increasingly being exploited as tools for disinformation, political manipulation, and even digital authoritarianism, posing significant challenges to democratic values and social cohesion.

The Indo-Pacific region is particularly susceptible to these challenges, as disinformation and misinformation spread rapidly across digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, and WhatsApp, exacerbating societal divisions. Moreover, political actors often leverage these platforms to silence criticism, control information flows, and even restrict access to critical digital infrastructure to consolidate their power.

The discussions during this international conference will explore the complex interactions between digital technologies, cyberspace, social media platforms, and political dynamics in the region. Scholars, practitioners, and policymakers from various institutions will offer insights into the impacts of digital disinformation and explore pathways to counter these challenges while promoting digital literacy and inclusivity.

This conference is made possible through the generous support of the Australian Research Council (ARC) via a Discovery Project grant, the Gerda Henkel Foundation, the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS), and the Alfred Deakin Institute (ADI), all of which are committed to fostering academic inquiry into this pressing global issue. The conference aims to serve as a platform for fruitful discussions and meaningful collaboration, enabling us to better understand digital complexity and its implications for democracy in the Indo-Pacific.

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