'Populism in
historical perspective'
Symposium
2nd
November 2016, European Institute, University College London
The last decade has seen the
rise of politicians, parties and governments to whom the label 'populist' can
usefully be applied. This is true not only in Europe, but also in North and
South America, Turkey, India and elsewhere. British media responses to this
global shift have focused on the 'Brexit' referendum result and the short term
consequences of the 2008 financial crash. There has been less interest in
historicising these phenomena or locating them in an analysis of twentieth and
twenty first century democracy. Yet this would be a useful endeavour, involving
study not only of twentieth century populists like Pierre Poujade or Juan Perón, but also a wider project investigating the
development of modern mass society since the late nineteenth century.
The UCL European Institute
and UCL Centre for Transnational History therefore invite abstracts for papers
covering topics in twentieth and twenty-first century populism across a broad
geographical range, with the aim of exploring the factors which shape its form,
as well as the reasons for its apparent recent upsurge. While operating with an
historical focus, we aim to bring together sociologists and political
scientists, as well as modern and contemporary historians. We aim to discuss
populism in a global perspective, and therefore especially welcome papers that
deal with the subject outside of the European context, or which examine
transnational connections between populists.
The symposium is co-organised
with Passionate Politics (http://passionatepolitics.eu/about/) a research group
at University College London which explores the relationship between politics
and the world of the emotions. As such, we are particularly interested in the
affective content of populist politics, and the means by which emotions are
mobilised to political ends.
In order to facilitate
dialogue between our speakers and encourage lively and engaged discussions
between conference attendees, the conference will be organised in three
thematic panels, preceded by an opening plenary which will help to orientate
the discussion. The panels are as follows.
The People
Populists tend to portray
themselves as standing for the marginalised. Yet they seek to be majoritarians,
and their coalitions often encompass a large range of publics,
characteristically cutting across divides (socio-economic, cultural, regional,
occupational) which other political formations treat as normative. What is the
class composition of populist movements and to what extent is the formulation
'the people' used to shape a politics that lies outside class (or other)
conflict? Who in turn lies outside the people?
Populist values
Populists
characterise themselves as defenders of a particular set of values, often under
attack by a distant elite. What social structures, cultural practices and
economic interests shape these values? How do these values translate into
political decisions? How do they inform notions of legitimacy, democracy, and
authoritarianism.
Languages
of populism
Populism
often deploys the language of 'common sense', both as a persuasive rhetorical
tool and an articulation of the subjectivity of a group which feels it has been neglected or ignored. How are these
knowledges formed, communicated and mobilised? What is the role of the media,
both as a mouthpiece for populist politics, a force in shaping the context in
which it emerges, or as a focus for anger on the part of publics. What role have
new forms of media played in allowing contemporary populists to communicate
with their publics?
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Abstracts
Please send 250-400 word
abstracts for papers of 15-20 minutes to team@passionatepolitics.eu. Please
indicate the panel to which your abstract applies, and attach a short CV.
Please direct any questions to harry.stopes@gmail.com or alessandro.arcangelis.13@ucl.ac.uk
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