POPULISM – Page 7 – Takis S Pappas

November 17, 2019July 15, 2021

Explaining populism to my son’s class

Originally published in Pragati, India, September 2018

The other day I ran accidentally into my son’s high school history teacher who, over other small talk, had an idea: “You’re an expert on populism,” he said, “so why don’t you come to our school class and tell us about it? Anytime this fall would be good for us and the kids, all of them with an international family background, are brilliant,” he smiled reassuringly. “Why not?” I smiled back, half out of politeness and half because I really like that teacher in particular. Alas, no sooner had we parted after our little deal was made that I almost regretted my carefree promise to him.

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November 16, 2019November 18, 2019

From thinking about planets to arriving at a theory of populism

Adapted from Sociologica 13:2, 2019

Many academic articles, but also op-eds in the popular press, about populism begin by lamenting the conceptual confusion surrounding the topic, then go on offering their own definitions and other clarifications, only to inexorably end up having further muddied the waters. What we need is a general theory of populism. The question then is: What does it take to build such a theory?

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November 15, 2019November 18, 2019

What makes populists and nativists distinct?

Originally published in Democratic Audit, LSE/UK, March 2018

The recent surge of various challenges to democracy in Europe has presented scholars, policy makers, journalists and other pundits with an empirical muddle. As we now try to make sense of Europe’s fast-changing political landscape, we are faced with the following predicament: still lacking well-defined concepts and, therefore, unable to classify our empirical cases into mutually exclusive, jointly exhaustive, and empirically useful categories, the tendency is to lump together disparate challengers to contemporary democracy under the ill-defined ‘populism’ label. Yet, at the end, the result is data misgathering and the comparison of nonequivalent units under the erroneous assumption that they are equivalent. This amounts to wasteful research. It also eludes sensible responses to the various challengers.

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November 10, 2019November 17, 2020

Populism; populist

Populism (noun). A novel type of political leadership/political party/political system that developed in the aftermath of World War II and combines electoral democratic politics with opposition to modern liberal institutions. Minimally defined: Democratic illiberalism.

Populist (adjective). The term applies to modern political leaders, political parties, and political systems that abide by electoral democracy but disrespect liberal institutions and challenge established constitutional legality allegedly for the benefit of the ordinary people.

While you are here, learn how to distinguish populism from nativism.

November 8, 2019November 16, 2019

POPULISTS IN POWER

Published in Journal of Democracy 30:2 (April 2019), 70-84 https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/populists-in-power/

The “populist rule diamond”

November 7, 2019November 15, 2019

The Specter Haunting Europe: Distinguishing Liberal Democracy’s Challengers

Published in Journal of Democracy 27(4), October 2016 https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Pappas-27-4.pdf

The recent surge of various challenges to democracy in Europe has presented scholars and policy makers with an empirical muddle. European democracy seems to be in jeopardy, and there is no shortage of culprits. In parts of the continent, far-left parties are wielding new influence; in other places, the far right has risen. Nativists thrive on growing xenophobia, and even racist and neo-Nazi forces are lurking.

Amid the worry, it is crucial to be clear about two things. First, not all of democracy’s challengers are the same, despite a promiscuous tendency to label them all as “populists.” Second, their rise is not traceable to a single cause, and hence should not be expected to prompt a single response. Parties and movements that do not belong to the same species should not to be treated as if they do—it will only make the search for causes and solutions harder.[1] We are dealing with a range of political phenomena that have their own distinct sets of causes, normative assumptions, and practical consequences. Continue reading “The Specter Haunting Europe: Distinguishing Liberal Democracy’s Challengers”

November 7, 2019November 15, 2019

WHY GREECE FAILED

Published in Journal of Democracy 24(2), April 2013 https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/why-greece-failed/

On 1 January 1981, Greece became the tenth member of what is now the European Union, well ahead of Spain and Portugal. This was a just reward for a country broadly seen at the time as an unqualified success story. Within just a few years after the 1974 breakdown of a fairly brief dictatorship (the so-called colonels’ regime that began in 1967), Greece had been able to establish—and by all appearances consolidate—a liberal and pluralist system with fully inclusive institutions. The early post-authoritarian governments implemented brave policy reforms while striving for political moderation; they also kept the books in order by combining modest borrowing with fast economic growth. At the same time, society seemed to be vibrant and optimistic, with the country’s imminent EU entry promising new prospects and opportunities. For nearly three decades thereafter, and especially after its 2001 transition into the Eurozone, Greece appeared to be a perfectly democratic and increasingly prosperous European nation.[1] Hardly anyone seriously doubted the country’s continuing success. Continue reading “WHY GREECE FAILED”