Right-wing Populist Research Articles

The variety of anti-gender alliances and democratic backsliding in Turkey: fault lines around opposition to “gender ideology” and their political implications

ABSTRACT This article examines the politics of knowledge production and the affective politics of rising anti-genderism in civil society in contemporary Turkey with a focus on two main points: (1) the variety of actors and their different strategies opposing “gender ideology,” and (2) the effects of state–movement dynamics on the political efficacy of those strategies. The findings demonstrate that anti-gender alliances between state and civil society actors display a discursive plurality in Turkey in terms of how they manage the fluidity and heterogeneity of the opposition to “gender ideology” that links a wide range of concerns about feminist ideas, movements, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex (LGBTI+) rights. Providing a typology of the different forms of opposition to “gender ideology,” the article concludes that in the recent era the right-wing populist regime in Turkey has redrawn its alliances in the gender policy field, accommodating illiberal actors’ anti-gender demands and anti-equality policy visions. This shift toward an aggressive performance of anti-genderism renders gender equality politics more contentious through a polarizing populist form of knowledge production and affective politics and even destabilizes gender equality policies that have already been accepted.

Attacken von rechts außen. Öffentlich-rechtliche Medien als Ziel populistischer Medienfeindlichkeit

Public service broadcasting in Europe is under pressure. Right-wing populist parties have a considerable share in this development. The article aims to show why public service broadcasting in particular is the target of populist criticism. The strategies used by populist actors to put public broadcasters under pressure can be derived from the antagonism cultivated between the populace and the elite. At the same time, they serve to avoid critical reporting and thus public scrutiny. The conclusion is that the attacks on the public service system should also be understood as an attack on the freedom of the media and their role in democracy.

Ist die Thüringer Rechtsordnung widerstandsfähig genug? Zum Policy-Paper „Rechtsstaatliche Resilienz in Thüringen stärken. Handlungsempfehlungen aus der Szenarioanalyse des Thüringen- Projekts“

In April 2024, a scenario analysis on the resilience of the Thuringian constitutional and legal system was presented in the Thuringian state parliament with a view to the possible participation of an authoritarian populist party in government after the state elections in Thuringia in September 2024 . In this study, a number of suggestions were made as to how democracy in the Free State could be made more resilient, even if a party such as the AfD “only” achieved the most or more than a third of the votes . This article examines these pro- posals from a political science perspective in terms of their usefulness and necessity . As a result, most of the proposals can be agreed with, even if it must be pointed out that democ- racy cannot be “saved” by changes to (constitutional) legal provisions alone .

Die bayerische Landtagswahl vom 8. Oktober 2023: Votum für Kontinuität der schwarz-orangenen Koalition

The Bavarian election on October 8, 2023, has led to a shift to the right . The Free Voters and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are the election winners and are once again making significant gains compared to 2018 . The parties of the Berlin coalition are the election los- ers . The Greens, in particular, received fewer votes than five years earlier, but together with the Free Voters and the AfD, they remain relatively equal behind the still dominant Chris- tian Social Union (CSU) . The CSU remains on its lowest result since 1950 and the SPD achieved its worst result in a German western state . The Liberals are punished the hardest, failing to reach the 5%-threshold for the seventh time in ten parliamentary terms . Massive problems such as rising inflation and energy prices, as well as increasingly serious challenges posed by climate change, migration and increasing right-wing populism, are also putting the wealthy state of Bavaria to the test and allowing state-specific issues to take a back seat in the election . The decisive factors for the election result were the general satisfaction with the work of the Prime Minister, the desire for stability and continuity in difficult times, but also a growing concern that the CSU can no longer cope with the growing problems on its own . That is why the citizens voted for the continuation of the black-orange coalition, which was formed only 19 days after the election .

The Russia-Ukraine war: unravelling the challenges to the liberal international order

With the diffusion of power in global affairs, a convergence of multiple threats began to intersect and challenge ‘the liberal international order’. On the one hand, the US, the sole hegemon, has been frequently abusing the rules and institutions of ‘the liberal international order’. Besides, ‘the post-Cold War US grand strategy of liberal internationalism’ has been under pressure from ‘the revisionist states such as Russia and China’ and the right-wing populist leaders in advanced Western democracies. On the other hand, the global society is witnessing the return of great power politics, imperial ambitions, and Moscow’s desire to gather Russians and re-establish a Russian sphere of influence in its neighbourhood by unleashing war against Ukraine. These geopolitical challenges aggravate the great powers’ competition, undermining the American dream of the universal liberal order. With the return of ‘the tragedy of great power politics’, the United States needs to maintain a strategy of coexistence rather than confrontation. Washington ought to prefer stability over democracy promotion, shore up its democratic alliance, and shred its imperial character such as NATO enlargement to preserve the rules of the liberal international order.

Horizons of Critique

Our political present is characterized by the rise of right-wing populism. This trend has not only led to a repoliticization of society, but also of academic philosophy, including phenomenology. In the U.S., a strong movement has emerged under the label of critical phenomenology whereas in Europe the movement of political phenomenology has become prominent. Both projects have in common the aim of positioning phenomenology as a critical project, questioning social relations of domination and power. These projects relate to Husserl’s transcendental phenomenology in different ways. In the following, I want to uncover this relation by fleshing out the horizons of critique that come with transcendental, critical, and political phenomenology. In particular I will show how the phenomenological method of demonstration can become a means of critique in political confrontations.

Hidden in Plain Sight: Fascism in Quebec during the Second World War

My doctoral dissertation on anti-Semitism and extreme right-wing nationalism in 1929–39 Quebec proved to be a thread that, once pulled, would reveal other aspects of Quebec history that had also been hidden in plain sight. The writing of the most prominent nationalists of the 1930s was available in most university libraries in Quebec. While some politicians acknowledged in their memoirs the influence of these intellectuals in their youth, the appeal of fascism and anti-Semitism was never mentioned. Their resounding silence was quickly shattered by reading the Université de Montréal (University of Montreal)’s Le Quartier Latin student newspaper, where articles praising fascism and denouncing the Jewish influence were common, and a little book that claimed that Pierre Elliott Trudeau had been a member of a revolutionary organisation that aimed at toppling the provincial government to establish an independent Quebec freed from democracy. Researching the French Nazi collaborators warmly received in Quebec after the Second World War led to a little-known man who became the personal ambassador to the Vatican of the premier of Quebec, Maurice Duplessis, during the Asbestos Strike of 1949. Combing through the files of some of the leading actors of that conflict in the Jesuits’ archives would reveal that the miners’ health threatened by asbestosis was a significant issue that the historiography of the event had neglected.

AN ANALYSIS: REFUGEE CRISIS IN EUROPE

The migration wave caused by the Syrian civil war has spread to neighboring countries, especially Turkey, and the process that has turned into a crisis has started to affect the European continent in many areas. This process, which became symbolic when the lifeless body of a little girl washed up on the southern shores of Turkey and in which many people lost their lives, was on the agenda of the world. The crisis led to administrative and societal issues within the EU, particularly during the sharing of responsibilities. The European Union has taken steps against the crisis with legal infrastructures such as the Amsterdam and Lisbon Treaties, which are elements of regulatory action on immigration problems and are based on the 1951 Immigration Convention. In social terms, the EU countries' inability to convince their citizens to implement certain policies has put them in a difficult situation in domestic politics. This situation was largely exploited by anti-EU right-wing populist parties, who found support among the public and obstructed the progress of the process. In the study, which emerged through the method of literature review, it was observed that while the EU appeared to have sufficient legal infrastructure, the reluctance of EU countries to take initiative based on domestic politics hindered the management of the problem.

The System Is Corrupted, and the Mainstream Media Is Lying to us! Exploring the Relation Between Affinity Toward Conspiracy Myths and Alternative News Media Usage

Abstract Alternative news media (ANM) have become an important information source for certain audiences. Research shows that ANM usage is linked to a preference for populist parties and the use of digital media. However, ANM existed before the rise of populism and digital media over the last two decades. Thus, we must assume that additional factors are related to ANM usage. To investigate such factors, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey (N = 1,212) of the Swiss population. We analyze how affinity toward conspiracy myths, preference for populist parties, the usage of social media, and the Telegram messenger app are related to ANM usage. The results indicate that people with a high affinity toward conspiracy myths are more likely to use ANM. Different than in previous studies, preference for populist politics is not related to higher ANM usage in Switzerland. Our results suggest that the political context matters when studying ANM usage and that the strong focus on right-wing populism might lead to scholars missing part of the bigger picture. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the use of social media and Telegram, which recently gained relevance as a channel for mobilizing protests during the COVID-19 pandemic, positively connect with ANM consumption.

Let the people’s will prevail: Self-uncertainty and authoritarianism predict support for populism

Recent years have witnessed a widespread rise of right-wing populism—an ideology maintaining that the will of the people is supreme, but is subverted by antagonistic elites. Drawing on uncertainty-identity theory, three studies (total N = 5,882) tested the hypothesis that uncertainty would only strengthen support for populism among low authoritarian respondents. Studies 1 and 2 were secondary analyses of American National Election Survey (ANES) 2012 and 2016 data. They supported our key hypotheses in explaining support for the populist American Tea Party (Study 1, N = 1,917), and support for right-wing populist ideology and voting preference for Donald Trump rather than Hillary Clinton (Study 2, N = 2,520). Study 3 ( N = 1,445) experimentally manipulated self-uncertainty to allow a causal interpretation, and focused on right-wing populist ideology. The results are discussed in terms of their contribution to uncertainty-identity theory, and their societal relevance in an environment of growing populism.

Back to the Future. The Aftermath of Poland’s 2023 Parliamentary Election

On 15th October 2023 Polish voters decided to put an end to the 8-year period of the Law and Justice Party in power, widely seen as “authoritarian populism”. The paper analyses the electoral programmes of the major contenders (Law and Justice, Civic Coalition, Third Way, New Left and Confederation) as well as a variety of election-related statistics (e.g. by voters’ age, education, occupation and residence) revealing a more complex image of the Polish society and its political preferences in 2023. The author argues that due to remarkable ideological and socio-cultural polarization contemporary Poland remains “a house divided” or even “two nations [with] no sympathy [for each other]”. Even if Poland has now chosen a path back to the future, the new pro-EU liberal government will face a number of identifiable challenges.

A full ideology as driver for authoritarian dynamics: Comment to Populism and Civil Society

“Populism and Civil Society” is a rich book full of insights. I see three crucial overarching points the book drives home: one about the character of current populism, one about the causes, and one about the consequences. First, they define populism in a way that goes beyond the prevailing juxtaposition of the people and the elite. Instead, the definition involves elements of the ideas about a good order, including the central role of popular sovereignty, the symbolic representation and embodiment of the whole of the people, the strict borders between in and out, and a focus on electoral competition. Second, Arato and Cohen provide an explanation of populism that focuses on politics and democratic tensions. Third, the book points to “strong authoritarian tendencies that are almost always fully evident when populism achieves political power.” These propositions are right on target and very convincingly developed. In fact, they are very much in line with an attempt to account for “authoritarian populism” that Armin Schäfer and I have provided. Against this backdrop, I want to comment on the core messages by raising some questions about the details of these issues. It will become evident that this commentary is a case of sympathizing criticism.

Perceived technological threat and vote choice: evidence from 15 European democracies

The political consequences of workplace technological adoption have become a focus of recent party politics research. This article contributes to this literature by directly examining how the perceived threat of technological change relates to support for populist and non-populist left and right parties. It does so in two ways: first, by examining subjective rather than objective automation exposure, and second by distinguishing between personal and collective threat perceptions. Using vote choice data from 15 European countries, this article shows that subjective perception of personal automation exposure relates to increased support for left parties and decreased support for populist-right parties, while concern over collective risk relates to increased support for the populist right. These patterns suggest that fear of workplace technological change elicits both material and status concerns. The article concludes with counterfactual analyses demonstrating that both non-populist and populist left-wing parties could benefit by mobilizing voters who feel personally threatened by automation.

Joker: Film, Working Class and Post-Truth

The film Joker (2019) garnered huge interest from audiences worldwide and honored at the box office with an amount exceeding one billion dollars. Indeed, Joker has a class and political reflection on society. This article claims that the film Joker is a manifesto against the political forces that prioritize populist, authoritarian, and ruthless capitalist policies all over the world. The aim of our study is to analyze how the class movement is shown and examined in Joker. Joker's anti-system and anti-capitalist stance needs a sociological analysis; this analysis examines how Joker reflects people's subconscious and inspires class resistance. Another important point is to analyze the movie scenes with a descriptive analysis that will help us understand the transformation of the social movement. How the characters are assigned semiotically in the script is another requirement in terms of emphasizing what the film tells implicitly. It is important both to understand the chaos of the working class, which has not yet positioned itself in the production relations of the postmodern period after, and to see the film's recipe for why the working class should not incline towards right-wing populist politics. Understanding these two points will be the most important result and achievement of our study.

Citizens in the “Realm of Anti-Politics”

The term anti-politics refers to a whole catalog of phenomena such as the decline in citizens’ interest in politics and participation in formal political institutions the process of depoliticization and technocratization of democracy and the rise inpopularity of right-wing populist parties and nationalism. The purpose of this article isto explore what anti-politics really is. This requires not only going beyond an analysis of current politicsbut also a pure descriptivism that simply registers changes in the attitudes of participants in public life. It is necessary to look at this complex phenomenon not only in the long termbut in different interpretive contexts

Feeling the Truth: Emotions and Digital Truth-making within Right-wing Populist Networks on Twitter/X

Based on an investigation of how everyday users participate in right-wing populist discourse on social media platforms, this article explores the emotional practices that shape and legitimise purported truths about the threat posed by Islam to the Western world. The article builds on the findings of an online ethnography of a right-wing community of users on Twitter. Drawing on a practice theory approach of emotions that considers the properties of social media platforms, we argue that right-wing populist claims to truth do not function in a linear way. The emotions mobilised in this context do not solely focus on rejection and exclusion. Rather, right-wing populist truth-making is a complex process in which emotional practices of inclusion and exclusion are interwoven. 

"Feminine, Not Feminist": Trad Truth-making on Social Media

This article investigates the truth-making practices of networks of antifeminist women on social media who identify as “traditional” or “trad” for short. Demonstrating how trad truth-making emerges in response both to the tensions inherent in right-wing nationalism and neoliberal postfeminism, it argues that the potential solution trad women pose depends on the ways they harness social media to limb public and private spaces and personal and political concerns. Paying particular attention to the entanglement of emotions and technical affordances, I use instances from my fieldwork in trad networks to frame their outreach as a form of truth management equally invested in carving out a space for their own (semi)public presence as in combatting the perceived dangers of feminism.

Populist influences on design: Mediation of a new designer profile in Turkish advertising discourse

Aiming to illustrate the populist influences on design mediation, this paper explores the characteristics of a new and legitimate designer profile, persona, or myth recently constructed within the Turkish advertising discourse. To achieve this, three video advertisements that mediate designers and are influenced by the ‘domestic and national’ discourse—a representative of the national populist wave that recently dominated Turkish politics—were analysed. The analysis reveals how designers and their creative labour are portrayed to align with broader political climates, reflecting certain notions of national populism. These new, culturally and politically legitimate designers are portrayed not only as Turkish nationals and patriots but also as the ‘children of these lands’, living, thinking, and feeling like the average and ‘real’ people these political discourses claim to represent. In parallel, the analysis highlights the significant role of populism’s marked opposition towards foreigners and local foreigners while constructing and mediating these designer profiles.

The meaning of welcome. Positive migration discourse

Human e/migration across the Mediterranean increased significantly in the first part of the 21st century. At the mercy of people smugglers, migrants who succeed in crossing the seas face uncertain futures in Europe. Such immigration is at the heart of political debate in Europe, where right-wing populist parties have made significant gains because of their opposition to it. These parties tend to view human migration as a negative phenomenon, using familiar and by now even clichéd cultural and socio-political arguments against it. This study explores some of these discursive tropes. Rather than following studies that use a critical discourse paradigm, the paper’s main aim is to identify positive discourse and practice that might represent models for future behaviour in this context. It focuses on a discussion on recent migration involving Italy and, by applying tools of pragmatic analysis, united to knowledge of the socio-political background, traces some underlying trends in migrant reception. The data analysed were gathered by interviewing an Italian mayor who has attracted hostility from right-wing media for his novel approach to migrants, whose needs are met by finding them a place in the local social context. Findings suggest that, in certain circumstances, the migratory phenomenon may benefit not just the subjects involved but also the places concerned. The study thus foregrounds the degree to which welcoming the cultural other counters social discourses that currently appear triumphant in mainstream media and electoral processes.

'I'm Real, Not You': Roles and Discourses of Trans Exclusionary Women's and Feminist Movements in Anti-gender and Right-wing Populist Politics

This article offers a comparative inquiry concerning the rise in visibility, relevance, and power of trans exclusionary women’s and feminist movements in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) between 2015 and 2022.  It focuses on two case studies concerning trans rights: the successful campaign for Bill C-16 in Canada, and failed reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 in the UK. In both cases, key streams within trans exclusionary women’s and feminist movements increasingly engage in collaborative action with right-wing populist-centered anti-gender coalitions, which include right-wing religious, conservative, and right-wing extremist actors, from approximately 2016. It argues that a key role of women’s and feminist actors in these coalitions is to help legitimize, amplify, and give meaning to anti-gender and right-wing populist appeals and, therein, the politics of exclusion they promote. This occurs in part, it is argued, through symbolic appeals concerning authenticity and the non-materiality of trans lives; the promotion of narratives concerning conflicts in rights; and the provision of strong imagery, narrative, and emotional appeals concerning threat. These broad developments have had various important effects. In the UK, the combination of so-called ‘radical’ as well as ‘traditional’ actors within anti-gender coalitions, has been critical in challenging progress towards trans and broader (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Intersex, and Queer) LGBTIQ+ rights. In Canada, although anti-gender movements have enjoyed less policy success during this period, women’s and feminist actors have helped popularize and provide legitimacy to wider coalitions.