Populist Approach Research Articles

The Contrasting Risk Communication Strategies of European Leaders during the COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract COVID-19 brought the role of leaders under intense scrutiny; their communication and framing of the crisis was crucial during the initial period of uncertainty. UK prime minister Boris Johnson and German chancellor Angela Merkel, managed and communicated the first wave of the crisis (March-June 2020) very differently. The clear contrast between pandemic response in two countries, with similar population sizes, wealth, and exposure to COVID-19, provides a lens through which to reflect on the different risk communication strategies utilized by both leaders. Following a grounded theory approach, the communication strategies of both leaders were examined. Transcripts from 31 press conferences from the initial announcement of COVID-19 to the end of the first wave were examined, and key themes identified. The analysis was framed using the CDC’s Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication lifecycle model, allowing for a structured comparison across different phases of the crisis. The findings were examined through the broader socio-political context of their communication. Similar themes were present in both leaders’ speeches, this included a focus on national identity; national strategy; health situation and social solidarity. However, they did so in markedly different ways. Merkel’s consistent, evidence-based communication strategy was more closely aligned with risk communication best practice compared to Johnson’s initial populist approach, which ultimately required a significant mid-crisis adjustment. Their different approaches also reflect their personas as political figures. Key messages • The consistent, science-based communication strategies exemplified by Merkel closely followed risk communication best practice and is likely enhanced public compliance and trust during the crisis. • These finding demonstrate the importance of incorporating a political lens to understand leaders approaches to risk communication and in public health research more broadly.

POPULIST POLITICS IN PAKISTAN: A CASE STUDY OF PAKISTAN THREEK -E- INSAF (PTI) FROM 2018-2023

Populism, although not a new political ideology, has witnessed a significant resurgence since the late 20th century. Emerging initially among Southern sharecroppers and tenant farmers in the United States during the 1880s, populism has since manifested globally, characterized by its opposition to elites and its appeal to the "common people." This thesis explores the nature of populism, its ideological foundations, and its impact on contemporary politics, with a particular focus on Pakistan's political landscape. The study critically examines the populist strategies of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its leader Imran Khan, assessing their socio-political and economic consequences from 2018 to 2023. By distinguishing between populist and non-populist politics in Pakistan, this research provides a comprehensive analysis of PTI's rise and its implications for democracy and governance in the region. The analysis reveals the intricate dynamics between populist rhetoric and policy, and their effects on the economic and sociopolitical fabric of Pakistan. Key findings indicate that PTI's populist approach has significantly reshaped political discourse and governance structures, promoting a narrative that pits the "pure people" against the "corrupt elite." The thesis also highlights the broader implications of populism for democratic practices, suggesting that while populism can invigorate political engagement and address genuine grievances, it also poses challenges to pluralism and institutional stability. Ultimately, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of populism in the Pakistani context, offering valuable insights into its potential trajectories and the critical balance required to sustain democratic values amidst rising populist sentiments.

The Rise of Populism and Its Impact on Democratic Institutions: A Comparative Analysis of Global Trends

This article explores the rise of populism and its impact on democratic institutions through a comparative analysis of global trends, using a qualitative methodology based on literature review and library research. Populism, characterized by its anti-elite rhetoric and appeal to "the people," has gained significant traction across diverse political landscapes in recent years, affecting both mature and emerging democracies. The study examines the ways in which populist leaders and movements challenge key democratic principles, such as the separation of powers, judicial independence, and the integrity of the media. Drawing on case studies from various regions, including Europe, Latin America, and the United States, the research identifies common patterns in the populist approach to governance, particularly in the undermining of checks and balances and the erosion of institutional trust. Furthermore, this paper discusses how populism capitalizes on economic inequality, political disenfranchisement, and cultural tensions to gain popular support. The findings suggest that while populism poses significant risks to democratic institutions, its long-term impact varies depending on the strength and resilience of a country's legal and institutional framework. This study concludes with recommendations for safeguarding democratic governance in the face of rising populist movements, emphasizing the importance of reinforcing democratic norms, enhancing civic education, and ensuring institutional transparency.

IDENTITY POLITICS IN PROGRESS: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF SYAFII MAARIF’S IDEAS

In Indonesia’s political landscape, there is a current tension between identity politics and populist ideologies. Identity politics is a broad term used to describe political movements and actions related to religious identities and institutions, particularly in an Islamic setting. However, it raises concern about how we will investigate identity politics as part of a contextual, constituent-based approach to politics. The current study investigates Syafii Maarif’s political views. By employing a social hermeneutic approach and interpretive methodologies, this thought is elaborated in this study. The investigation reveals three primary elements of identity politics based on Maarif’s analysis: 1) ethnicity, 2) religion, and 3) political ideology. According to Maarif, any political activity that has these three characteristics is intrinsically saturated with identity politics. As a result, Muslim politics are often limited and narrowly defined. To address this constraint, the findings of this study advocate the actualization of the notion of identity politics to make space for populist politics. While religion, ethnicity, and political ideology coexist, a populist approach is still relevant in Islamic politics, persuasion methods, and specific constituency-based political connections.

On Colonial Monuments in the Post-colony: An Outline of the Problems of Populist Approaches in Managing Heritage in Southern Africa

What to do with colonial-era monuments has been a major challenge facing southern African nations ever since the demise of colonialism and apartheid in the subregion. To deal with the problem, governments in the region embarked on popular transformative agendas that included decontextualization and the removal of alleged problematic monuments from the public sphere. Such approaches have over the years received the backing of several scholars of heritage and history, who have often cited them as ones capable of offering ever-ending solutions to the issue. However, while recognizing the necessity of transformation, this article nevertheless argues that such a transformative agenda that is characterized by erasures of that which has been accepted as heritage in a particular phase of a country’s history is not a proper way of dealing with such symbols. First, such approaches create possibilities for heritage fundamentalism to filter into the domain of heritage. Second, such approaches were premised on the narrow argument that the notion of problematic heritage is only limited to cases of racial differences or between the former colonizers and the colonized. Instead, by using examples of case studies in one of the countries in the region, the article demonstrates that all heritage is subject to review, either by new political dispensations or by future generations. Hence, when dealing with symbols accepted as heritage, interpretation as opposed to decontextualization or destruction must be resorted to as a guiding framework. When this happens, heritage then ceases to be a platform of contestation and becomes one of continuity.

Indonesian Political Populism in the Agrarian Sector

This article seeks to understand the role of populist ideology in marginalizing the agrarian sector and the agrarian populism movement in Indonesia in the Reformation Era. Indonesia is an agricultural country, so such marginalization and the limited involvement of the agrarian movement is ironic. Development studies see the marginalization of the agrarian sector as a consequence of the reorientation of economic development towards the industrial and service sectors, mostly in urban areas. Studies like this often do not look at the political side of the marginalization. This study aims to fill this gap by analyzing the phenomenon in Indonesia utilizing Margaret Canovan’s populist approach. The findings show the influence of political populism on the marginalization of the agrarian sector in the reformation era in Indonesia. Pragmatic, populist leaders exploited ‘the people’ as a political rhetorical tool to gain power without touching the agricultural sector where ‘the people’ reside.

Engaging “unusual suspects” in climate action: cultural affordances for diverse competences and improvised identities

The demonstrated urgency of the climate crisis would require mobilization by a larger and more diverse set of participants than those usually recognized as environmental activists. Hence this article asks: (1) What conditions enable unlikely participants (such as men working in manual occupations) to engage in and identify with a climate movement? And (2) what is it about the relationship between participants’ biographies, the practices of the climate movement and the interaction between them that allows – or affords – such identification to occur? I draw on an approach to identity formation as situated practice, i.e., as occurring in situations where social relations are enacted while drawing on the individual experience and shared understandings that participants bring to the situation. Based on fieldwork in Finnish municipalities that have committed to climate neutrality, I find that the conditions for engagement depend on socio-cultural affordances for engaging in climate action, which (1) accept and welcome participants’ life histories and lifestyles (2) build on and respect participants’ competences and multiple forms of expertise, (3) engage participants in practices that are familiar enough not to produce anxiety but stimulating enough to be fun, and (4) produce small but visible achievements that are acknowledged as such by both participants and onlookers. The current study contributes to previous research arguing for a more populist approach to climate policy by emphasizing existing competences and embodied practices as an avenue for engagement in climate action.

Authoritarian populism and response to COVID‐19: A comparative study of the United States, India, and Brazil

As the phenomenon of populism is in the preliminary stages of exploratory research, the present study involves an empirical investigation involving a case study of the United States, India, and Brazil to examine whether a correlation exists between populism and management of COVID‐19. The study adopts the ideational approach of populism as a set of ideas or discourse to review how core conceptual features of populism have impacted on management of COVID‐19. The study has two main objectives: (1) to examine whether populism in the United States, India, and Brazil has determined “a populist response” to the pandemic in dealing with the health crises and (2) to explore the management of COVID‐19 in the states led by right‐wing populism and the commonality of populist approaches adopted in handling the health crisis. Comparing the three states' statistical data of management models, the study has argued that common populist mechanisms such as distrust for experts, contempt for institutions, and suspicion of “others” have guided the US, India, and Brazilian leadership response to COVID‐19. It further argues that leadership in the United States, India, and Brazil has prevented effective management by politicizing the crisis, aggravating social polarization, and contradicting expert advice. Moreover, populist and nationalist orientation of the leadership has evaded responsibility in these states with the leadership blaming ethnicities for spreading the virus and by weakening societal solidarity.

Populism’s Building Complex; or: Is there such a thing as Populist Architecture?

This article argues that there is a distinctive populist approach to the built environment. Populists claim that they alone represent what they often call “the real people.” Hence, there is a need for them to specify who “the real people” are. If they have sufficient power (and time) while in government, they will reshape the built environment – architecture, no less than urban and rural environments more broadly -- in line with their understanding of “the real people.” In particular, they will create spaces (some obviously political, some not so obvious, such as football stadiums) that can serve as sites for the collective affirmation of a particular understanding of peoplehood. The article also asks how post-populist governments should relate to a built environment reshaped by populists.

Online Disinformation and Populist Approaches to Freedom of Expression: Between Confrontation and Mimetism

Online Disinformation and Populist Approaches to Freedom of Expression: Between Confrontation and Mimetism

Between global and local: translation and localization in Netflix Turkey’s media paratexts

ABSTRACT This study analyses Netflix Turkey’s media paratexts in which Netflix’s foreign productions and Turkish originals are promoted by the creative use of local elements and/or culture-specific references. It aims to identify the role of translation in these paratexts in promoting both Netflix and its shows such as Stranger Things among others in Turkey. It also discusses the functions of these paratexts in relation to their socio-political contexts of production and the wider debates around regulation and censorship in Turkey. The analysis shows that translation and localization in the selected paratexts serve to make the foreign shows relatable, evoke a sentiment of nostalgia and create a sense of belonging. Further, the paratexts on Netflix Turkish originals highlight the untranslatability and culture-specificity of Turkish expressions to appeal to the viewers’ national pride, which is arguably informed by a populist approach due to the increasing possibility of restrictions on content.

Labour law after neoliberalism?

AbstractOver the course of the past 40 years, neoliberalism has all but destroyed the institutions that once civilized labour markets. In the wake of that destruction, labour law reform is being driven in some jurisdictions by a new kind of right‐wing populist politics. What does this hold in store for work relations? Our investigation of contemporary labour law begins with a brief look backwards to the pre‐ and post‐war decades and to the ostensible depoliticization of the law under neoliberalism. We then consider the possible emergence of a distinctly right‐wing populist approach to labour law in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Poland, drawing comparisons with the German experience after neocorporatism. Finally, we take a normative turn and consider what steps ought to be taken by a government intent on addressing class inequalities and restoring the kind of rights that post‐war democracies once conferred on workers understood to be industrial citizens.

Crime Victimization, Trust and Performance Evaluation of Donald Trump: Exploring Gender and Race Determinants

AbstractTwo of Donald Trump administration’s most salient legacies are the high level of crime victimization and low popularity ratings among groups likely to be targeted by crime, such as females and race and ethnic minorities. To explore crime victimization and public opinion towards the president, the article tests whether gender and race determinants among crime victims were associated with trust in the president and job performance approval. Results indicated that females and female victims of crime were less likely to reward presidential performance and trust Trump. Blacks and Latinos were less likely to trust Trump and less likely to reward his job performance; however, there was no effect when moderating by whether they reported being victims of crime. Victims of crime in unsafe neighbourhoods were less likely to trust and reward presidential performance. More surprisingly, being a crime victim was a significant and positive predictor of trusting Trump and rewarding his job performance. The results tell us about the need to continue studying the public’s wishes for the authorities to respond to the problem of victimization, oftentimes rewarding populist approaches to punitive justice, incarceration and overall tougher criminal policies.

Post-Colonial Agriculture Policy and Agrarian Change in Malawi, 1964–1979

Abstract Agriculture has always been the main occupation and a source of livelihood for the majority of people in Malawi since time immemorial. This implies that any institutional reform implemented on land, agricultural production and marketing of agricultural enterprises directly affects the farming communities. The interest of the article covers institutional reforms from the years 1964 to 1979. The article briefly analyses the colonial era policies and further explores how the post-colonial government took up a very populist approach to change most of the colonial era ordinances not only as a means of consolidating power but also transferring ownership of the means of production like land to the African farmers. However, though these changes were well intentioned, both the colonial and post-colonial institutional frameworks turned out to be the means through which the peasant farmers were oppressed. This state of affairs of systematic oppression of the peasantry experienced through these policies and laws thwarted the attempts for the transformation of peasantry into capitalist or semi-capitalist farmers. The argument of this article, therefore, is that the current state of the peasantry and underdevelopment of the smallholder sector in Malawi draws its origin from the institutions and structures created in the colonial and immediate post-colonial period. It concludes that a positive change in the state of agrarian communities could be hampered more by the very institutional framework set up for agricultural development. Using a qualitative approach in data collection and analysis, the article explores how the post-colonial policies and practices assisted in bringing about agrarian change in Malawi.

PROTECTION OF VALUES OR MANAGEMENT BY REPRESSION. ON THE FUNCTIONS OF CONTEMPORARY CRIMINAL LAW

The study is devoted to an attempt to determine whether the analyses carried out at the level of the philosophy, theory and analysis and synthesis of criminal law, as well as the approaches presented in various criminological theories can be used in debates about the goals and functions of modern criminal law. The analyses carried out are based on the reconstruction of the current state of criminal law, dominated in many countries by penal populism. The coincidence of the repressiveness characteristic of the populist approach subordinated to the implementation of the concept of extreme deterrence, with the position of the legal elite as to the goals and functions of criminal law, illustrates the state of tensions and crises in which contemporary repressive law has found itself. The image of the public debate, characterized by the unambiguity of positions combined with the lack of perceptual openness to the views presented by the proponents of opposing approaches, provides a premise for the search for rational and verifiable arguments in disputes over the shape of criminal law. Given the limitations of the analysis and synthesis of criminal law in the sphere of disputes about values, an anthropological vision and a model of social structure make it reasonable to search for premises that order the debate about criminal law on other levels. In this regard, the study presents systemic approaches presented in the philosophy of criminal law combined with an attempt to justify that, in fact, complementary elements can be seen in them. Complementing the philosophical perspective is the plane of criminal law theory, on which one can also find elements that are part of the universal approach to repressive law. Adding to this picture of modern criminological theories, the study presents the thesis that modern criminal law serves multiple, sometimes opposing functions justified by reference to other assumptions and models of social structure. The multiple functions of modern criminal law make it unreasonable to refer to the dichotomy capturing alternatively the functions and goals of criminal law either as an instrument for protection of socially valuable values or as a tool of management by repression. The text seeks to justify the position that modern criminal law performs, in part, both functions indicated above. At the same time, there are opportunities to rationally limit the use of criminal law instrumentally as a tool of management by repression in the interest of power and certain social groups. The science of criminal law, encompassing the following planes: theoretical and philosophical, can be a plane that provides premises and arguments to help resolve contemporary dilemmas. In particular, it seems that the approaches presented in the science of criminal law and criminology are not so much of an opposing and radically competitive nature, but are in fact harmonizing, containing a number of complementary elements in a complex set of assumptions and claims that make up a holistic approach to the criminal law system.

How to Revisit the Question of Modernity? Some Propositions

Abstract Often dismissed as evolutionism and sometimes accused of maintaining neocolonial domination, the field of studies dedicated to modernity and processes of modernisation has been progressively discredited in the social sciences over the last forty years. However, for some time now, a number of historians and sociologists have sought to rehabilitate this field on new grounds. Rejecting both the miserabilist and populist approaches that have held the monopoly on studies of modernity for too long, their work outlines a research program whose coherence and main arguments are presented in this article. We show that this research program proposes a properly methodological definition of modernity – as the present of humanity – and imposes four major conditions on the study of modernity and processes of modernisation: the refusal of state-centrism; an attention to the practical foundations of different conceptions of “modernity”; an adherence to the principle of contemporaneity; and finally, a commitment to anchoring the generalising ambition of the social sciences within a rigorous search for processual analogies.

The role of imported inputs in firms’ productivity and exports: evidence from Indonesia

The rise of economic protectionism worldwide has come with the re-emergence of mercantilist policies whereby governments push for exports while restricting imports. Against this populist approach, we show that importing inputs can raise productivity and export. Using firm-level data matched with very detailed customs data of Indonesia’s exports and imports during 2008–2012, we apply instrumental variable strategy with import tariffs and import weighted real exchange rates as instruments for import of intermediate inputs. We find causality from imported inputs to productivity increase and export growth. Higher access to input varieties has a larger impact than an increase in import volume on export, implying that the main benefits of importing may come from access to broader alternatives of inputs. Furthermore, the impact is also larger when imports originate from developed countries, suggestive of a positive effect of technology and product quality.

Battered by Geopolitical Winds, Bulgaria Struggles to Restart Much Needed Reforms

Battered by Geopolitical Winds, Bulgaria Struggles to Restart Much Needed Reforms

Santiago Abascal’s Twitter and Instagram strategy in the 10 November 2019 General Election Campaign: A populist approach to discourse and leadership?

While the scholarly consensus is that VOX is a far-right political party in European terms, questions remain regarding whether or not its politics contain elements of populism. This research paper explores the Twitter and Instagram strategy deployed by Santiago Abascal, leader of VOX, during the 10 November 2019 general election campaign to assess whether his messaging includes characteristic features of populist rhetoric, to analyze the uses to which he puts social media, and to understand the features of the leadership he projects via social networks. The research methodology is content analysis applied to the 136 and 26 posts on Abascal’s Twitter and Instagram accounts, respectively, during the election campaign. The findings suggest that Abascal’s discourse is marked by a conservative and nativist form of Spanish nationalism; however, it is also shaped by an anti-establishment rhetoric and antagonistic message that pits la España Viva [‘Living Spain’] against la dictadura progre [‘the progressive dictatorship’], reflecting the inclusion of some features of populism. A further conclusion is that these social media platforms are the preferred propaganda tools used to communicate the candidate’s agenda, although each network evinces certain distinctive characteristics: Twitter channels a polarizing message via aggressive and critical rhetoric, whereas Instagram posts are designed to show the human side of the candidate’s profile. Thus, it would seem that the aim is to articulate a populist-inflected form of charismatic leadership.

Duty Evasion in Free Trade Agreements: Norm Emergence and Implications

Despite the failure of states to adopt multilateral rules to address the circumvention of anti-dumping and countervailing duties, efforts have more recently been deployed by the United States to focus on the issue of ‘duty evasion’. After failed attempts to discuss the issue at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) specifically addresses cooperation between Parties regarding information sharing and duty evasion verification requests with a view to ensuring the enforcement of trade remedy laws. Can the elaboration of duty evasion provisions in regional trade agreements facilitate the negotiation of rules to address the issue of anti-circumvention at the multilateral level? This article argues that the motivations and inherent limits underlying the USMCA duty evasion provisions are most likely to impede broad adoption at the multilateral level. It proceeds in two steps. First, while the United States is playing a pivotal role as a norm entrepreneur in the emergence of these duty evasion provisions, the article demonstrates a clear evolution in its strategy toward a populist approach to international economic policy. Second, after identifying similarities with other provisions, the article addresses the lacunae in the USMCA duty evasion provisions from a legal perspective. duty evasion, anti-circumvention, anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, World Trade Organization, norm entrepreneur, populism