"Integrative Seminar 3 : Populism, again ?"
This course offers a thorough exploration of populism, a prominent political ideology in today's global landscape. Populism is defined as a movement centred on the contrast between "the people" and the "elite." It encompasses various aspects, including ideology, discourse, practice, communication, and strategies for protest and electoral mobilisation. Populism seeks to reignite political confrontation by framing it as a struggle between the "people" and a perceived "corrupt elite." The course starts by establishing the theoretical foundations of populism, emphasising its adaptability and versatility as an ideology, as explained by scholars like Laclau and Mouffe. It then delves into the communication tactics of populist actors, highlighting their use of simplification, polarisation, and emotional appeals to engage supporters. Populist rhetoric is a crucial tool for framing societal issues as conspiracies driven by the elite, creating an "us versus them" narrative. Psychologically, populism taps into people's yearning for change, anti-elitist sentiments, and belief in a virtuous and unified "people." It fosters a sense of belonging and emotional investment in a particular political identity. While primarily focusing on ideological and communicative aspects, the course briefly addresses populism's connection to environmental issues, exemplified through a case study. In summary, this course equips students with a scholarly understanding of populism, encompassing its ideological, communicative, and psychological dimensions. It provides the analytical tools necessary for critically assessing populism's impact on contemporary politics and media discourse, all within a concise and informative framework.
Syllabus :
Aiolfi, Théo. “Populism as a Transgressive Style.” Global Studies Quarterly 2, no. 1 (March 10, 2022): ksac006. https://doi.org/10.1093/isagsq/ksac006.
Barr, Robert R. “Populism as a Political Strategy.” In Routledge Handbook of Global Populism, edited by Carlos De La Torre, 1st ed., 44–56. Routledge, 2018. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315226446-4.
Forgas, Joseph P., William D. Crano, and Klaus Fiedler, eds. The Psychology of Populism: The Tribal Challenge to Liberal Democracy. Sydney Symposium of Social Psychology. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Franics Group, 2021.
Gidron, Noam, and Bart Bonikowski. “Varieties of Populism: Literature Review and Research Agenda.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2013. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2459387.
Hawkins, Kirk A. “The Ideational Approach.” In Routledge Handbook of Global Populism, edited by Carlos De La Torre, 1st ed., 57–72. Routledge, 2018. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315226446-5.
Hawkins, Kirk A., Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser, and Ioannis Andreadis. “The Activation of Populist Attitudes.” Government and Opposition 55, no. 2 (April 2020): 283–307. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2018.23.
Jansen, Robert S. “Populist Mobilization: A New Theoretical Approach to Populism.” Sociological Theory 29, no. 2 (June 2011): 75–96. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9558.2011.01388.x.
Moffitt, B. (2016). The Global Rise of Populism: Performance, Political Style, and Representation (1st ed.). Stanford University Press.
Chapter 3. Understanding Contemporary Populism: Populism as a Political Style. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvqsdsd8.
Chapter 4. The Performer: Populism and the Leader. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvqsdsd8.
Chapter 5. The Stage I: Populism and the Media. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvqsdsd8.
Chapter 6. The Audience: Populism and ‘The People’. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvqsdsd8.
Müller, Jan-Werner. “Is Everyone a Populist ?” In What Is Populism?, 1–6. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.9783/9780812293784/html.
Vreese, Claes H. de, Frank Esser, Toril Aalberg, Carsten Reinemann, and James Stanyer. “Populism as an Expression of Political Communication Content and Style: A New Perspective.” The International Journal of Press/Politics 23, no. 4 (October 2018): 423–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161218790035.
Optional Readings
Akkerman, Agnes, Cas Mudde, and Andrej Zaslove. “How Populist Are the People? Measuring Populist Attitudes in Voters.” Comparative Political Studies 47, no. 9 (August 2014): 1324–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414013512600.
Hameleers, Michael, Linda Bos, and Claes H. de Vreese. “‘They Did It’: The Effects of Emotionalized Blame Attribution in Populist Communication.” Communication Research 44, no. 6 (August 2017): 870–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650216644026.
Urbinati, Nadia. “Political Theory of Populism.” Annual Review of Political Science 22, no. 1 (May 11, 2019): 111–27. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-050317-070753.
Academic Conference
Left-wing Populism | Chantal Mouffe : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVgRWXFpCq8
Slavoj Zizek's Problem with Left Populism : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdR-YThyihw&ab_channel=TheRadicalRevolution
Documentary
An Insignificant Man : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGhAGojg-mI&t=14s&ab_channel=KunalKamra
Knock Down the House : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCSo2hZRcXk&ab_channel=Netflix
YouTube Videos
Understanding Laclau & Mouffe : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tstkq9JCkqE&ab_channel=UNSWeLearning
Why Trump will Smash Hillary : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LibRNYJmZ-I&t=138s&ab_channel=CharismaonCommand