Rethinking Populism: Politics, Mediatisation and Political Style

Abstract

As a key feature of the contemporary political landscape, populism stands as one of the most contentious concepts in political science.This article presents a critique of dominant conceptions of populism -as ideology, logic, discourse and strategy/organisation -and introduces the category of 'political style' as a new compelling way of thinking about the phenomenon. We argue that this new category captures an important dimension of contemporary populism that is missed by rival approaches. In doing so, we put forward an inductive model of populism as a political style and contextualise it within the increasingly stylised and mediatised milieu of contemporary politics by focusing on its performative features.We conclude by considering how this concept allows us to understand how populism appears across the political spectrum, how it translates into the political mainstream and its implications for democratic politics.

Populist Discourse on Political Representation: A Case Study of Anti-Establishment Organizations in Lithuania

“…Populism not only acquires different shapes in different contexts, but definitions of the very concept of populism vary. Populism has been defined as a style (Canovan, 1999;Moffitt and Tormey, 2014), as a strategy (Weyland, 2001;Jansen, 2011), and as a thin-centred ideology (Canovan, 2002;Mudde, 2004). In this article, populism is understood according to Cas Mudde's definition of populism as a set of ideas "that considers society to be ultimately separated into two homogeneous and antagonistic groups, 'the pure people' versus 'the corrupt elite,' and which argues that politics should be an expression of the volonté générale (general will) of the people" (2004, p. 543).…”

Different Types of Right-Wing Populist Discourse in Government and Opposition: The Case of Italy

“…While there has been a lengthy debate about how to define 'populism' (Taggart 2000;Mudde 2004;Moffitt & Tormey 2014), there are several core elements that most scholars agree are ever-present in populist discourse. First and foremost: populists juxtapose a 'good people' with a set of 'bad elites' .…”

The Economic Freedom Fighters: South Africa’s Turn Towards Populism?

“…This allows for a focus on the performance of politics and the way it creates political relations. Moffitt & Tormey (2014) 'seek to acknowledge the collapsing of style and content in these "spectacular" times'. They quote Frank Ankersmit, who argues that 'style sometimes generates content, and vice versa' (Moffitt & Tormey 2014, p 388).…”

“…This article is based on the assumption that a focus on the performative elements of the EFF's politics sheds light on its brand of populism. Moffitt & Tormey (2014)'s model has three main elements, which are discussed below.…”

“…The elite or political class are constructed as the source of some crisis or breakdown that is based on or has resulted in the people being let down, exploited or poorly governed. According to Moffitt & Tormey (2014) populists distance themselves from the elite or power bloc in several ways, including the adoption of popular language, gestures and fashion. Populists make claims of being the true voice of the people.…”