Abstract
AbstractScholars have analyzed how structural forces and cultural factors contribute to populism, but relatively little research has been devoted to documenting or theorizing counter-populism. This study asks: how does counter-populist performance become successful? We engage the literatures of populism, political performance, and hope, and conduct a case study of the 2021 COVID outbreak in Taiwan. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of 313 newspaper reports, we find that the Taiwanese government’s counter-populist efforts succeeded through transforming an emotive context of anger into one featuring hope—a process we term “emotive transformation.” We identify three facilitating mechanisms: the enactment of key elements of hope (agency, valid pathways, support from allies, and tangible outcomes); the timely inclusion of bipartisan or nonpartisan participants; and strong collective effervescence. Our study contributes to theorizing counter-populism and helps address the “Atlantic bias” in studies of populism.
Published Version
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