The Comeback of Populism: Transatlantic Perspectives

Populism is a fuzzy term. It neither identifies a specific political program nor does it clearly situate political positions along a left-to-right spectrum. Instead, it refers to a strategy of communication and a style of political performance. This volume sheds light on the resurgence of populism in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. Contemporary populisms need to be understood in their cultural and political specificities as well as in their global interrelation and outreach. They often share an authoritarianism along with anti-establishment resentments while posing as expressing the ‘voice of the people.’ Real or imagined scenarios of threat are met with a rhetoric of emancipation from victimization, yet this emancipatory zeal is couched in a rhetoric of exclusion and, even, nativism. Frank Decker, Akwugo Emejulu, D.S. Hillygus, Michael Hochgeschwender, Donatella Izzo, Carlos de la Torre, and Hans Vorlander (et al.) examine populism’s simplifications and mystifications.