Populism and nationalism in a comparative perspective: a scholarly exchange

Abstract

The purpose of the Exchange feature is to publish discussions that engage, advance and initiate new debates in the study of nations and nationalism. This Exchange article is on the subject of ‘Populism and Nationalism’. Each contributor addresses the following four questions on the subject: (1) What is populism and what role does it play within the context of democratic politics? (2) Does populism cut across left–right lines? (3) What is the relationship between nationalism and populism? (4) Are contemporary populist movements across Europe and the West comparable? Our aim is to generate a thought‐provoking conversation with regard to the rise of populism in Europe and the West.

How should we analyze the connections between populism and nationalism: A response to Rogers Brubaker

“…to be part and parcel of populism , there is a considerable consensus across different (ideological, stylistic, discursive, etc.) approaches around a ‘minimal' definition of populism as characterized by a people/elite distinction and the claim to speak in the name of ‘the people' (see Moffitt ; Mudde and Rovira Kaltwasser ; Ostiguy ; and see Bonikowski et al in this journal)—even if serious disagreement still exists as to the nature of populism (discourse, logic, ideology, strategy, and a combination of those) and its normative evaluation (democratic, anti‐democratic, …). In this sense, part of Brubaker's critique of our contribution extends well beyond our work; it seems to question central elements of the definitional consensus gradually emerging within populism research (see Brubaker p.…”

Right-wing Populism as a Nationalist Vision of Legitimating Collective Choice: A Supply-side Perspective

“…While this literature discusses different populist contexts, many of the underlying themes remain the same, for example the idea that populism "occurs in societies that stand on the edge of modernization" (Berlin et al 1968, p10) and that it "stresses 'the 'internal' values of the chosen group as against the 'external' values of the enlightened cosmopolitanism" (Berlin et al 1968, 3). The relationship between populism and nationalism is not new either as much of the literature expects the two to go hand in hand especially in rightwing populist agendas (Bonikowski 2017;Bonikowski et al 2019;Mudde 2004;Berlin et al 1968;Betz 1994).…”

“…As noted above, populism is chameleon-like, taking many forms, including both right-wing and left-wing (Bonikowski et al 2019). The main contention with regard to using the term itself is whether this chameleon-like character makes it just an empty buzzword; in other words whether it is too broad, nebulous and all-encompassing to be useful analytically (Bonikowski et al 2019;Brubaker 2017b;Halikiopoulou 2018;Berlin et al 1968). This theoretical shortcoming entails that a populist party or group may be difficult to identify empirically.…”

“…For many, this is part of a broader trend of the mainstreaming of far right ideas (Halikiopoulou 2018). Brexit in the UK is a notable example of such populism (Bonikowski et al 2019;Freeden 2017). This refers both to the Vote Leave campaign, as well as the urgency with which those supporting Brexit have sought to implement it, often bypassing parliamentary checks and balances (Freeden 2017).…”

Populism and nationalism

“…One important recent focus of contestation concerns the relation between populism and nationalism (Bonikowski et al ; De Cleen , ; De Cleen and Stavrakakis ; Stavrakakis et al ). On one view, the two are intimately connected: nationalism is central to populism and vice versa.…”