Left Wing Populism

This book conceptualizes left-wing populism as a combination of the populist impetus of expanding representation, through the appeal to 'the people' against 'the elites' and the agenda of the left to promote equality and social justice. This study undertakes an in-depth exploration into the concepts of sovereignty, class identity and 'the people'

We are currently witnessing in Western Europe a “populist moment” that signals the crisis of neoliberal hegemony. The central axis of the political conflict will be between right- and left-wing populism. By establishing a frontier between “the people” and “the oligarchy,” a leftpopulist strategy could bring together the manifold struggles against subordination, oppression and discrimination.This strategy acknowledges that democratic discourse plays a crucial role in the political imaginary of our societies. And through the construction of a collective will, mobilizing common affects in defence of equality and social justice, it will be possible to combat the xenophobic policies promoted by right-wing populism.

Immigration has become one of the central issues dominating the agenda of political parties, and has also played a crucial role in the rise of right-wing populism in Western Europe. This book explores the role of conservative parties in immigration policy change. The following questions are addressed: What explains the introduction of restrictive immigration policies across a number of European states? Why do conservative parties choose to toughen their immigration policy stances? How can we explain the variation in the factors that affect conservative parties’ immigration policy-making logics? What mechanisms account for the dynamics of immigration policy change or policy deadlock? Based on interviews with political elites and policy makers in the UK, Switzerland and France, the book explains why governmental conservative parties in these countries revised their immigration policy stances and steered immigration policy in a more restrictive direction between 2002 and 2015.

Right-wing militias and other antigovernment organizations have received heightened public attention since the Oklahoma City bombing. While such groups are often portrayed as marginal extremists, the values they espouse have influenced mainstream politics and culture far more than most Americans realize. This important volume offers an in-depth look at the historical roots and current landscape of right-wing populism in the United States. Illuminated is the potent combination of anti-elitist rhetoric, conspiracy theories, and ethnic scapegoating that has fueled many political movements from the colonial period to the present day. The book examines the Jacksonians, the Ku Klux Klan, and a host of Cold War nationalist cliques, and relates them to the evolution of contemporary electoral campaigns of Patrick Buchanan, the militancy of the Posse Comitatus and the Christian Identity movement, and an array of millennial sects. Combining vivid description and incisive analysis, Berlet and Lyons show how large numbers of disaffected Americans have embraced right-wing populism in a misguided attempt to challenge power relationships in U.S. society. Highlighted are the dangers these groups pose for the future of our political system and the hope of progressive social change. Winner--Outstanding Book Award, Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights in North America

The Great Recession, institutional dysfunction, a growing divide between urban and rural prospects, and failed efforts to effectively address immigration have paved the way for a populist backlash that disrupts the postwar bargain between political elites and citizens. Whether today’s populism represents a corrective to unfair and obsolete policies or a threat to liberal democracy itself remains up for debate. Yet this much is clear: these challenges indict the triumphalism that accompanied liberal democratic consolidation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. To respond to today’s crisis, good leaders must strive for inclusive economic growth while addressing fraught social and cultural issues, including demographic anxiety, with frank attention. Although reforms may stem the populist tide, liberal democratic life will always leave some citizens unsatisfied. This is a permanent source of vulnerability, but liberal democracy will endure so long as citizens believe it is worth fighting for.

"This work argues that at populism's core is a rejection of pluralism. Populists will always claim that they and they alone represent the people and their true interests. Müller also shows that, contrary to conventional wisdom, populists can govern on the basis of their claim to exclusive moral representation of the people: if populists have enough power, they will end up creating an authoritarian state that excludes all those not considered part of the proper 'people.' The book proposes a number of concrete strategies for how liberal democrats should best deal with populists and, in particular, how to counter their claims to speak exclusively for 'the silent majority' or 'the real people'"--Provided by the publisher.

The last two decades have seen the emergence of new radical right-wing populist parties in Western democracies. The electoral breakthrough of the French Front National in 1984 was the starting point for the rise of parties combining anti-establishment populism and anti-immigrant politics based on ethno-nationalist ideology, and today radical right-wing populist parties are well represented in national politics in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, and the Netherlands in Western Europe, as well as in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. By bringing together some of the foremost experts within this area of research, this book gives a comprehensive image of different aspects of radical right-wing populism: its causes, ideology, and impact.

This volume offers a comparative survey of Far Right parties across Europe, examining in particular their changing political rhetoric. The contributors look at the development of two distinct forms of party development and discourse: The Haiderization and The Berlusconization model.