The political theology of populism and the case of the Front National

Abstract

In this article, we investigate the political theology of populism and look at the case of the Front National (FN). Considering the writings of Carl Schmitt and Ernesto Laclau, we trace the logical core of Schmitt’s political theology and show how it is integrated into theories of the political and Laclau’s theory of populism. We argue that the theologico-political core of populism is the simultaneous disavowal and imposition of mediation and that this stance leads to an increasing formalism. Looking at the discourse of the FN on the notion of laïcité, we find that this theologico-political structure explains how the party is able to link traditionally left- and right-wing motives in its discourse. Finally, we show how in FN’s discourse, the formalist tendency of populism, which Laclau has theoretically explicated, has become overt and must be understood as part of politics, not as a universal and tran-historical logic of the political. This suggests, we argue pace Laclau, that we ought to consider both the discourse of FN and the theoretical concepts of the political or of populism, as results of one of the same historical processes which has led them to affirm their common and uninterrogated assumption: the theologico-political principle and its disavowal of the possibility of metaphysical and political mediation.

Leaving the Discursive Definition of Populist Social Movements: The Case of the Yellow Vest Movement

“…The ostracizing of the people “on the bottom” is a common feature of many right-wing populist parties in Europe, such as the National Rally ( Rassemblement national ). The National Rally is also characterized by the tendency to link the elites “on the top” to the people “on the bottom” in their rhetoric, criticizing the mainstream parties for being overly solicitous toward immigrants, and especially France’s Muslim population (Bergem and Bergem, 2019). Although the targeting of the people “on the bottom” is far less evident in the case of the YVM than in the case of the National Rally, the YVM appears to be more “triadic” than the anti-austerity movements that Aslanidis uses as showcases for his definition of PSMs.…”

Finding Religion: Immigration and the Populist (Re)Discovery of Christian Heritage in Western and Northern Europe

“…Populist movements can tap into such socially prevalent religious imaginaries and heritage to underpin their nativist vision of "a homogeneous and morally unified body", as well as the illiberal patterns of political action that follow (Müller 2016, p. 27). It is thus of no coincidence that populism's religious appeals and undertones have been studied as a form of political theology in the Schmittian sense, or as a normative endorsement of authority and hierarchy resting on a non-pluralist notion of sovereignty (Arato 2013;Bergem and Bergem 2019;Schmitt 2005). Populism, therefore, can get entangled with religion and religious themes in multifaceted ways, with varying levels of directness and intensity.…”

Slik kan sykepleiere snakke med deprimerte foreldre om barnas situasjon

“…Uten fakta er barn overlatt til egne forestillinger. En tommelfingerregel er, ifølge psykiater Anne Kristine Bergem (2018), at det man sier skal vaere sant, samtidig som man ikke trenger å si alt som er sant. Forklaringer som innebaerer tidsangivelser er vanskelig for barna å forstå og må knyttes til konkrete hendelser, som bursdag og jul.…”