Among the intellectual legacies of Stanley Hoffmann are reflections on right-wing politics. Today they seem more than ever relevant to understanding a world of triumphant populism. 1 Hoffmann’s early publications include studies of groups with some
In French Politics, Culture & Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Jun 2017
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 21–31
Benjamin Moffitt
While the rise of populism in Western Europe over the past three decades has received a great deal of attention in the academic and popular literature, less attention has been paid to the rise of its opposite— anti-populism. This short article examines the discursive and stylistic dimensions of the construction and maintenance of the populism/anti-populism divide in Western Europe, paying particular attention to how anti-populists seek to discredit populist leaders, parties and followers. It argues that this divide is increasingly antagonistic, with both sides of the divide putting forward extremely different conceptions of how democracy should operate in the Western European political landscape: one radical and popular, the other liberal. It closes by suggesting that what is subsumed and feared under the label of the “populist threat” to democracy in Western Europe today is less about populism than nationalism and nativism.
Neither Shadow nor Spectre
Populism as the Ideological Embodiment of the Democratic Paradox
Anthony Lawrence Borja
) democracies. Ideological decontestation determines not only the ideological development of populist movements, but also the subsequent trajectory of populism's relationship with democratic politics. Therefore, this article exposes and dissects the triadic and
“Work pays”
Slovak neoliberalism as “authoritarian populism”
Nicolette Makovicky
Focusing on the implementation of the New Social Policy in January 2004 and the social unrest that followed, this article traces the discursive construction of welfare dependence as a “Romani” problem through the creation of a media-led “moral panic”. Situating this “moral panic” within the wider context of competing populist narratives in postsocialist Slovakia, it argues that the ethnicization of the unrest constituted a rearticulation of nationalist populist symbols into liberal political logic. Employed by the opposition, the first of these narratives posited liberalization as the dispossession of the working majority by corrupt elites. This was countered by a second narrative presented by the center-right coalition that posited welfare as a system of “just rewards” for those willing to work, while constructing the Romani minority as social deviants. As such, it appeared to be a variant of what Stuart Hall has called “authoritarian populism”: an attempt by the leading coalition to harness popular discontents in order to justify exceptional levels of government intervention into social life.
Right-Wing Populism and International Issues
A Case Study of the AfD
Christiane Lemke
, poses a challenge to international engagement. The current crisis in the international order is fueled by nationalism and populism. In this crisis several principles are called into question: liberalism, as well as pluralism in the domestic setting
In German Politics and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Jun 2020
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 90–108
Jonas Rädel
In German public perceptions, right-wing populism is cast as a specifically east German problem. This article critically examines how this assumption is located within the debate on German unity. In order to clarify the sometimes-confusing arguments on German unification, two paradigmatic perspectives can be identified: German unity can be approached from a perspective of modernization, or through the lens of postcolonial critique. When it comes to right-wing populism in eastern Germany, the modernization paradigm suffers from a lack of understanding. Hence, the arguments of the postcolonial perspective must be taken seriously, particularly as the postcolonial reading can grasp the complex phenomenon of right-wing populism in east Germany, and prevent the discursive and geographic space of the region from being conquered by right-wing political actors.
In German Politics and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Dec 2019
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 29–42
Freedom from Democracy
Progressive Populism and the Rise of Global Corporate Power
Mary Walsh
This article examines what McKnight (2018) refers to as “progressive populism” and argues that the rise of progressive populism in contemporary western democratic societies is directly related to the emergence of neoliberal governance regimes and the rise of global corporate power. Utilizing insights from both scholarly literature and popular commentary it outlines the rising counter assault by global corporations and governments since the 1960s to reverse and impede the increase of democratic rights for previously marginalized sections of many western democratic societies. It is crucial not to dismiss the power of global corporations and the rise of neoliberalism at the expense of the collective security of societies as just another form of elitism attacked by ordinary people. Corporations want freedom from democracy by usurping capitalist economic systems. They represent a disfiguration of representative democratic principles that culminates in paradoxes of liberty that progressive populists are contesting.
The Social Consequences of Brexit for the UK and Europe
Euroscepticism, Populism, Nationalism, and Societal Division
Steve Corbett
latest stage of “the European project”—political and economic integration within the European Union. British Euroscepticism is underpinned by two interlinked factors: the resurgence of populism and English nationalism. Second, an account of the
In The International Journal of Social Quality
- Published (Print):
- 01 Jun 2016
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 11–31
Dan Hough and Michael Koß
Despite its recent electoral successes, the Left Party's position in the German party system is more fragile that it may at first appear. The Left Party gained support in 2005 largely on account of dissatisfaction with other parties and not because masses of voters were flocking to its (nominally socialist) cause. Not even a majority from within its own supporter base thought it possessed "significant problem solving competences." Rather, much of the Left Party's political discourse is based on negative dismissals of much that it sees—in policy terms—before it. We discuss the Left Party's political development through the prism of populist politics. After outlining what we understand populism to mean, we analyze the Left Party's programmatic stances and political strategy within the context of this framework. Although populism is certainly not the sole preserve of the Left Party, it clearly excels in using populist tools to make political headway. We conclude by discussing the ramifications that this has for German party politics in general and for the Social Democratic Party in particular.
In German Politics and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Jun 2009
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 76–91
Populism
The Timeline of a Concept
Juan Francisco Fuentes
Populism and the “Cinderella Complex” The academic definitions of the concept of populism usually stress the pejorative sense of the term, the manipulating nature of the phenomenon, and its aversion to political and intellectual elites. This latter
In Contributions to the History of Concepts
- Published (Print):
- 01 Jun 2020
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 47–68