Housing, place and populism: Towards a research agenda

Richard Waldron

doi:10.1177/0308518x211022363

Abstract

This exchange considers the unrecognised interplay between two major political–economic trends shaping contemporary Europe, namely the upward trend in housing-induced inequalities and rising support for populist politics. Europe's housing systems have undergone dramatic transformations in recent decades that are exacerbating housing precarity, wealth inequalities and socio-spatial polarisation. At the same time, European politics has witnessed a growing acceptance of populist political rhetoric, values and policies as populists exploit citizens' economic anxieties and perceived cultural grievances. Yet, existing research overlooks the connections between housing system dynamics, housing precarity and political disaffection. In response, this exchange proposes a new approach – housing discontent – to capture how deepening housing precarity and place inequalities are influencing social attitudes, political values and preferences and resulting in a more polarised contemporary politics.

Highlights

In the decade following the financial crisis, rising economic inequality, diminishing social protections and a crisis of democratic legitimacy have thoroughly reshaped Europe’s political and economic geography as an increasing share of voters have turned to populist alternatives (Dijkstra et al, 2018)
Populism is defined as a style of politics marked by (1) a political rhetoric that instrumentalises public anxieties to challenge the political establishment, (2) a thin-centred ideology that separates society into two antagonistic groups and (3) a political strategy wielded by personalistic leaderships to exercise power based on direct, non-institutionalised
Housing discontent will elaborate on the connections between housing, place and politics and how researchers can better understand the interplay between housing inequalities and socio-political change. This exchange has argued that new approaches are required to understand the interplay between intensifying housing precarity and rising support for populist politics

Summary

Introduction

In the decade following the financial crisis, rising economic inequality, diminishing social protections and a crisis of democratic legitimacy have thoroughly reshaped Europe’s political and economic geography as an increasing share of voters have turned to populist alternatives (Dijkstra et al, 2018). Emerging research suggests correlations between populist voting, local housing market performance (Ansell, 2019) and financial stress (Kiss et al, 2020; Rugh, 2019), but the specific ways housing hardships shape citizens’ social attitudes, political values and preferences, and their acceptance of populist rhetoric, remains underexplored.

Results

Conclusion