All posts by admin

May 19
2

And it’s good night Vienna. How (not) to deal with the populist radical right: The Conservatives, UKIP and some lessons from the heartland, Oliver Grubera & Tim Baleb

Research Papers & Analysis

Abstract

Mainstream parties across Europe have been struggling for some time to counter the appeal of the populist radical right. With the rise of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the British Conservative Party is now facing a similar challenge. We argue that, since this is the case, it makes sense to ask whether there are lessons it can learn from other countries – in particular Austria, where the centre-right People’s Party (ÖVP) has been competing against the populist radical right (most obviously, the Freedom Party) for almost three decades. In the course of so doing, the ÖVP has tried many ways to deal with the threat posed: treating the populist radical right as a pariah; adopting some of its policies and rhetoric; inviting it into coalition government; and finally pursuing a ‘dual-track’ approach. We evaluate each strategy in turn and find that none of them has enjoyed huge or lasting success. We conclude that the Conservatives need to realise that UKIP is not so much a problem to be solved as a situation to be managed. Seeking to toughen the Tory stance on immigration and asylum is unlikely to pay electoral dividends and carries with it considerable downsides in terms of the party’s credibility and reputation, as well as in terms of public policy. Moreover, even if a more restrictive stance does not prove entirely pointless or (worse) positively counterproductive, it imposes opportunity costs the Conservative Party should think twice before paying. All this suggests the value of a comparative approach to those wanting to understand the new dynamics in British politics.

British Politics (2014) 9, 237–254. doi:10.1057/bp.2014.7; published online 19 May 2014, https://www.palgrave-journals.com/bp/journal/v9/n3/full/bp20147a.html

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Apr 14
2

The indignados, populism and emotions in political theory: a response to Paolo Cossarini, Lasse Thomassen

Research Papers & Analysis

No abstract available. This is a reply to: Cossarini, Paolo. 2014. “Protests, emotions and democracy: theoretical insights from the Indignados movement.” Global Discourse. 4 (2–3):
291–304. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23269995.2014.895930.

Global Discourse, Volume 4, Issue 2-3, 2014, Special Issue: Protest,
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23269995.2014.906771#.VCv5rPl_uAU

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Feb 03
2

Fighting the system? Populist radical right parties and party system change, Cas Mudde

Research Papers & Analysis

Abstract

This article assesses the impact of populist radical right parties on national party systems in Western Europe. Has the emergence of this new party family changed the interaction of party competition within Western European countries? First, I look at party system change with regard to numerical and numerical–ideological terms. Second, I evaluate the effect populist radical right parties have had on the different dimensions of party systems. Third, I assess the claim that the rise of populist radical right parties has created bipolarizing party system. Fourth, I look at the effect the rise of the populist radical right has had on the logic of coalition formation. The primary conclusion is that, irrespective of conceptualization and operationalization, populist radical right parties have not fundamentally changed party systems in Western Europe.

Published in Party Politics, 2014, Vol. 20(2), pp. 217–226, https://ppq.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/01/30/1354068813519968.full

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Jan 01
2

Populism in Latin American Politics, Carlos de la Torre

Research Papers & Analysis

Abstract

This chapter explores how scholars have conceptualized the relationship between Latin American populism and democracy. It analyzes different approaches to populism such as modernization and dependency theory, and current approaches that focus on discourse analysis and/or political strategies. The chapter focuses on the current wave of radical populism to explore the continuities and differences between “classical” populism of leaders such as Juan Perón, the “neopopulism” of Alberto Fujimori, and the radical populism of Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales, and Rafael Correa.

Chapter in Dwayne Woods & Barbara Wejnert (ed.) The Many Faces of Populism: Current Perspectives (Research in Political Sociology, Volume 22) Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 79- 100, https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/S0895-9935_2014_0000022003

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Jan 01
2

The Populist Conception of Democracy beyond Popular Sovereignty, Pepijn Corduwener

Research Papers & Analysis

Abstract

With populist parties making electoral progress across the European continent, the question of what their electoral success means for contemporary democratic systems has gained increasing significance. This article investigates how two populist radical right parties, the Austrian FPÖ and the Dutch PVV, conceptualise democracy, based on a wide range of party documents released over recent decades. It builds upon recent academic consensus that the relationship between populism and democracy is best understood from a ‘minimalist’ perspective, seeing populism not as antagonistic to democracy, but as an ideology that conceptualises democracy primarily in terms of popular sovereignty. The article adds to the existing literature by demonstrating that we can extend this understanding of the populist conception of democracy in three aspects: the populist emphasis on state neutrality; a two-fold notion of equality; and the extension of the political sphere in society. Based upon these three issues, the article concludes by exploring how the populist conception of democracy relates to the most dominant form of democracy practised nowadays, liberal democracy, and to what extent it reflects changes in our democratic political culture.

Published in the Journal of Contemporary European Research, 2014, Vol. 10 (4), pp. 423‐437, https://jcer.net/index.php/jcer/article/view/636/497

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Oct 01
2

The European populist challenge, Yannis Stavrakakis

Research Papers & Analysis

Abstract

In today’s Europe, the word ‘populism’ usually refers to right-wing populism or the populist extreme right. Is, however, the concept of ‘populism’ the proper theoreticopolitical instrument through which such identifications should be perceived, categorized and debated? What are the implications (direct and indirect) of such a naming? And what are the risks for critical analysis and for democratic politics in the European context? The hypothesis explored in this essay is that sticking to a restrictive association between ‘populism’ and the extreme right poses certain dangers that have to be seriously taken into account, especially in times of crisis. For a start, it is often premised on a rather simplistic euro-centrism that reduces the broad conceptual spectrum covered by the category ‘populism’ in its global use to a very particular European experience and then essentializes the resulting association, over-extending its scope. In addition, the category ‘populism’ is often used to describe political forces, identities and discourses in which the role of ‘the people’ is only secondary or peripheral, to the extent that it has to coincide with strongly hierarchical and elitist visions of society. What complicates things even further is that, within the context of the European (economic and political) crisis, whoever questions/ resists the austerity agenda – especially on the left – is increasingly discredited and denounced as an irresponsible populist. Indeed, it is not by coincidence that doubts are increasingly voiced both in the theoretical and in the political literature regarding the rationale behind such a strong association between populism and the extreme right. A series of points will thus be raised that may help us develop a plausible theoretico-political strategy in the new emerging conditions from a discursive perspective.

Annals of the Croatian Political Science Association (10/2013), https://www.ceeol.com/aspx/issuedetails.aspx?issueid=fad3514f-30f7-4e23-9e1e-61353a07b3c8&articleId=b164a0b4-d271-4117-8929-49fc8fb953f3

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