All posts by admin

Oct 06
2

A Rising Populist Star. The Emergence and Development of the PPDD in Romania, Gherghina & Miscoiu

Research Papers & Analysis

Abstract

The 2012 legislative elections in Romania have promoted a newly emerged political actor to the parliamentary arena. One year after its official creation the People’s Party Dan Diaconescu (PPDD) has mobilised a relevant amount of electoral support, ending third as the number of seats in Parliament. This article seeks to explain the political development of this populist party until its 2012 success. It uses a qualitative analysis based on primary (manifesto, organisational structure) and secondary (media reports, surveys) data. The analysis focuses on three dimensions: institutions (political competitors and party organisation), ideology, and attitudes (of the elites and voters).

Published in Debatte: Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, DOI:10.1080/0965156X.2014.959325, online: 06 Oct 2014, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0965156X.2014.959325#.VDpJPvl_uAU

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Oct 01
2

Varieties of Populism in a Changing Global Context. The Divergent Paths of Ergoğan and Kirchnerismo, S. Erdem Aytaç & Ziya Öni

Research Papers & Analysis

Abstract

While the literature on populism is rich on specifying the characteristics of populist movements that distinguishes them from non-populists, much less attention has been paid on distinguishing between different types of populist movements. In this article we highlight and account for divergent trajectories of populist practice in two major emerging economies—Argentina and Turkey. We stress that both the Kirchner governments of Argentina and the Erdoğan governments of Turkey closely fit to the populist pattern of rule, yet a close analysis of their policies suggests a left-wing type of populism in Argentina and a right-wing type in Turkey. Beyond identifying divergent strands of populism in two national contexts, we also explain the mix of domestic and external factors that accounts for this contrasting pattern.

 

Published in Comparative Politics, Volume 47, Number 1, October 2014, pp. 41-59, https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cuny/cp/2014/00000047/00000001/art00004

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Sep 30
2

Populism, Persistent Republicanism and Declinism: An Empirical Analysis of Populism as a Thin Ideology, Mark Elchardus & Bram Spruyt

Research Papers & Analysis

Abstract

Populism is usually studied by looking at the electoral and rhetorical strategies of parties considered to be populist. In contrast, this article attempts to measure the support for the core propositions of populism among voters and explain the social differences in that support. On the basis of a survey of the Dutch-speaking population of Belgium (N: 2,330) we find that this support for populism turns out not to be directly influenced by a weak or uncertain economic position, by dissatisfaction with personal life or feelings of anomie. Support for populism appears foremost as a consequence of a very negative view of the evolution of society – declinism – and of the feeling of belonging to a group of people that is unfairly treated by society.

Published in Government and Opposition (early view), DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/gov.2014.27, online: 30 September 2014, https://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9364377&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0017257X1400027X

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Sep 24
2

What can we hold against populism?, Fabio Wolkenstein

Research Papers & Analysis

Abstract

Populist movements have become key players in European politics. These movements are readily criticized by journalists or political rivals, yet none of the common objections to populism seems to arrest their success. This article turns to normative political theory to cultivate sensitivity to problems arising from some existing arguments against populism, and to explore possible alternatives. It offers a critical reading of prototypical liberal and conservative arguments against populism, and proposes that the principles of solidarity and procedure provide good grounds for a sustainable critique of populism.

Published online before print September 24, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0191453714552211, in Philosophy Social Criticism, https://psc.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/09/23/0191453714552211.abstract

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Sep 22
2

Do mainstream parties adapt to the welfare chauvinism of populist parties?, Gijs Schumacher & Kees van Kersbergen

Research Papers & Analysis

Abstract

Populist parties increasingly take a welfare chauvinistic position. They criticize mainstream parties for cutting and slashing welfare at the expense of the ‘native’ population and to the benefit of the ‘undeserving’ immigrant. Given the electoral success of populist parties, we investigate whether and when mainstream parties ignore, attack or accommodate welfare chauvinism. Using key theories of party behaviour, we test whether mainstream parties (1) respond immediately to populist parties, (2) respond with a time lag, or (3) respond only when they lose elections or are in opposition. Our quantitative analyses of party manifestos, speeches and policies of European mainstream and populist parties (1980–2012) show that mainstream parties adapt to populist parties on welfare chauvinism, but which parties adapt and when varies significantly. In our in-depth examinations of the Dutch and Danish cases, we highlight important cross-country and cross-party differences.

Published online before print September 22, 2014, doi: 10.1177/1354068814549345, in Party Politics, https://ppq.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/09/22/1354068814549345.abstract

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Sep 20
3

Megatrend Global Populism? From South America to the Occupy Movement, Alejandro Pelfini

Research Papers & Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the continuities or the “elective affinities” between the recent populist wave (or populist come back) in South America and the current Occupy Movement in order to trace the contours of an original populism at a global scale. The article starts with a brief definition of populism, continues with a brief evaluation of the recent return of populism in South America finishing with the analysis of the main connections with the current Occupy Movement: the experience of a crisis; the claims for more democracy and the exploration of a postneoliberal political economy. In societies with obscene levels of inequality such as what exists in many South American countries, populism does not seem to be a heresy or a pathology, but a rational alternative to solve problems rooted in a failed nation building processes. Increasing indignation as a generalize perception of non-experienced levels of inequality in the concentration of resources and power at the global level is at the basis of one can call a populist moment. It has to be discussed, if this populist moment also contains an original populist movement with global contours inside.

Chapter in Alexander Lenger & Florian Schumacher (Eds) Understanding the Dynamics of Global Inequality, Springer, 2015, pp. 199-211, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-662-44766-6_10

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