Populism in Europe: The Rise of Populist Political Parties and Populist Leaders

Session Submission Type: Created Panel

Session Description

Populism – and its implications for political parties – is an increasingly global concern. In recent years, populist leaders have won elections in countries ranging from the United States, to the Philippines, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria and others. This has led to a surge in interest in the impact of populism, both on the part of academics, and the public more broadly. During debate held in January 2017 in UK House of Lords, Lord Ashdown observed that it has been populist movements, rather than mainstream political parties, “that have changed the destinies of countries, colonised political parties or invented new ones, and elected presidents.” There is significant tension between populist modes of political mobilisation, which tend to focus on the charisma and individual appeal of the leader, and traditional understandings of representative democracy that privilege the role of political parties in representing the will of the public. Given this, panel will examine and analyse the growing influence of populist movements, with special emphasis on countries in Eastern and Central Europe. We will raise the questions about the continued relevance of political parties and leaders in populist political environment. Moreover, it has become clear that populism is not a trend confined to a single region, but rather represents a challenge to traditional modes of doing politics in established democracies, new democracies, and countries on the cusp of democratic transition. It is also a trend that has spread across both the developed and the developing world, both traditional democracies of Western and Northern Europe and newish democracies of Eastern and Central Europe. All of these factors make a panel focused on the rise of populism and its impact on political parties and political leaders particularly appropriate and timely. National case studies from Eastern and Central Europe region, as well as comparative perspective research including (part of) Eastern and Central Europe region, will be particularly welcomed.

Sub Unit

• Related Groups / Slovenian Political Science Association

Individual Presentations

• Populist Authoritarianism in a Comparative Perspective - Jerzy Wiatr, European School of Law and Administration

• Populist Parties in 2019 European Parliament Elections in the Czech Republic - Petr Just, Metropolitan University Prague

• Identity in Focus? EU and National Agendas in the 2019 EP Elections in Hungary - Boglarka Koller, National University of Public Service

• Religious Determinants of Populism in Poland - Agnieszka Turska-Kawa, University of Silesia in Katowice; Waldemar Wojtasik, University of Silesia in Katowice

• “Vote for Me, I am not Politician”: Local Leadership with Populist Agenda - Simona Kukovic, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Chair

• Miro Hacek University of Ljubljana