The increasing success of a large number of populist parties and actors seems to be frequently di... more The increasing success of a large number of populist parties and actors seems to be frequently dismissed without investigating its real reasons. By using anti-populism as a tool to oppose populist players, the central problematic that populist addresses, namely the perception of a cleavage between the people and an elite which is only able to discredit the claims of the former, are completely denied. Attitudes like this can only contribute to widen the gap and the mutual incomprehension between these two “opposing blocs”, as well as to reinforce the power of the more reactionary variants of populism. If political parties, and mainly left-wing political parties, are really aspiring to get closer again to their traditional and historical constituencies, they cannot just ignore or snub those who trust the populists and their claims. Only by going beyond captivating slogans and by seriously investigating the contents of those claims, is it possible to make a profound reflection upon the reasons of their success.
With its aspiration to democratise Europe by returning the political power to its people, the Dem... more With its aspiration to democratise Europe by returning the political power to its people, the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 contests the usual association between populism and nationalism, to be intended both in its inclusionary and exclusionary terms. The Research Question leading the analysis points at finding out whether DiEM25 represents a transnational populist variant, by individually dealing with its populist and its transnational character. Drawing on the Essex school’s discourse-theory, the research examines DiEM25’s populist discourse, by revealing its articulation around the two nodal points of ‘the people’ and ‘the elite’, specifically focusing on the former’s construction in transnational terms together with the existing tension with its national dimension. In order to stick to the movement’s essence, a qualitative analysis of the authentic material produced by the movement, namely its press releases, its manifesto, its program, and the key speeches given by its co-founder and putative leader Yanis Varoufakis, is operated.
The increasing success of a large number of populist parties and actors seems to be frequently di... more The increasing success of a large number of populist parties and actors seems to be frequently dismissed without investigating its real reasons. By using anti-populism as a tool to oppose populist players, the central problematic that populist addresses, namely the perception of a cleavage between the people and an elite which is only able to discredit the claims of the former, are completely denied. Attitudes like this can only contribute to widen the gap and the mutual incomprehension between these two “opposing blocs”, as well as to reinforce the power of the more reactionary variants of populism. If political parties, and mainly left-wing political parties, are really aspiring to get closer again to their traditional and historical constituencies, they cannot just ignore or snub those who trust the populists and their claims. Only by going beyond captivating slogans and by seriously investigating the contents of those claims, is it possible to make a profound reflection upon the reasons of their success.
With its aspiration to democratise Europe by returning the political power to its people, the Dem... more With its aspiration to democratise Europe by returning the political power to its people, the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 contests the usual association between populism and nationalism, to be intended both in its inclusionary and exclusionary terms. The Research Question leading the analysis points at finding out whether DiEM25 represents a transnational populist variant, by individually dealing with its populist and its transnational character. Drawing on the Essex school’s discourse-theory, the research examines DiEM25’s populist discourse, by revealing its articulation around the two nodal points of ‘the people’ and ‘the elite’, specifically focusing on the former’s construction in transnational terms together with the existing tension with its national dimension. In order to stick to the movement’s essence, a qualitative analysis of the authentic material produced by the movement, namely its press releases, its manifesto, its program, and the key speeches given by its co-founder and putative leader Yanis Varoufakis, is operated.
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