Projekter pr. år
Abstract
The edited book presents the results of empirical research on Populism and Democratic Defence in Europe, funded by the Carlsberg Foundation’s Challenges for Europe Project (CF20-008). Populist parties attract many more votes than they did a few decades ago and are now much more likely to govern. They have also become key players in the European Union and other international organizations. Yet the relationship between democracy and populism is often ambiguous. Some populist parties have weakened liberal democratic institutions in their countries, but in the right hands, populism may enhance democratic quality. This political conjuncture – the rise of populist parties, ambiguity about their democratic credentials, and their international role – raises a series of questions about the nature of opposition to this controversial set of political actors in Europe: Do opponents favour the use of rights-restricting and exclusionary repertoires typical of ‘militant democracy’ responses to anti-democratic, or extremist parties? Or do they favour the ordinary, persuasive, and sometimes inclusive strategies used when opponents confront each other in the daily conduct of liberal democratic politics? How do opponents frame opposition, and to what extent is opposition conceived as democratic defence? How do strategies vary among countries and in relation to different types of populist parties? How do international and transnational actors respond? Addressing these questions, the book presents new research mapping and comparing opposition to the Hungarian Civic Alliance (Fidesz), Law and Justice in Poland, Alternative for Germany, League and Five Start Movement in Italy, Podemos and Vox in Spain, the Sweden Democrats and the Danish Peoples Party. It argues that opposition to populist parties in contemporary Europe is in most cases best conceived as Democratic Defence as Normal Politics. That is, while there is no necessary link between a decline in democratic quality and populism, critical claims justifying acts of opposition often problematize the populist parties as threats to liberal democratic principles and values. At the same time, opponents were more likely to use the repertoires of ‘normal’ politics against populist parties, or strategies typically employed against other less controversial political opponents in liberal democracies, rather than the ‘exceptional’ or rights restricting instruments typically used against extremists. The case of Alternative to Germany, where ‘exceptional’ politics continues to guide much opposition, remained a case apart.
Originalsprog | Engelsk |
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Forlag | Palgrave Macmillan |
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Status | Accepteret/In press - 1 okt. 2024 |
Projekter
- 1 Afsluttet
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Populism and Democratic Defence in Europe
Bourne, A. (Projektdeltager)
01/01/2020 → 31/12/2023
Projekter: Projekt › Forskning
Forskningsdatasæt
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Initiatives Opposing Populist Parties (IoPP) in Europe Dataset
Bourne, A. (Ophavsmand), Moroska-Bonkiewicz, A. (Ophavsmand), Domagała, K. (Ophavsmand), Tyszka , F. (Ophavsmand), Laumond , B. (Ophavsmand), Campo, F. (Ophavsmand) & Nicolaisen, M. H. (Ophavsmand), Harvard Dataverse, 26 jul. 2024
DOI: 10.7910/DVN/V4TEB2, https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/V4TEB2
Datasæt