Dr. Werner Binder Fall 2023
doc. Mgr. et Mgr. Vlastimil Havlík, Ph.D. Monday, 12:00-13:40, U35
Culture and Politics of Populism (GLCb2003)
Course
Description
What’s wrong with “the people”? Since the invention of democracy, we can observe the rise and fall
of populist leaders and parties. But what exactly makes a politician and party populist? And under
what circumstances do populist movements and parties gain strength and, last but not least, is
populism dangerous for democracy? This course tackles the sociological as well as the political
problem of populism. In order to complete the course, all participants have – among other things – to
submit a final paper examining populist phenomena in different national contexts empirically.
Course
Objectives
This course focuses on populism as a challenge for democracy and civil society. It offers an introduction
to political and cultural approaches to populism, discussing definitions and theories of populism (e.g.,
as ideology, discourse or style), introducing relevant concepts (such as charisma, performance or class)
as well as examining empirical case studies from all over the world. From the perspective of political
science, specific attention is paid to the relationship of populism and democracy and to explanation
of electoral success of populist parties and characteristics of their voters. From a cultural sociological
perspective, the focus lies at the cultural logic of populism, its symbolic forms and social contexts.
Learning
Outcomes
At the end of the course students should be able to explain basic approaches in the study of populism
as a political ideology and cultural phenomenon, to define main features of populism and to describe
the development and characteristics of the main populist parties and movements in modern
democracies. Also, they will be able to describe the relationship of populism and democracy and the
most common explanations behind the success of populist political parties. From a political science
perspective, stress will be placed on explanations related to recent societal and economic changes and
challenges (crisis of political representation and/or globalization and Europeanization). Furthermore,
students will be able to understand the complexities of the relation between populism and civil
society. From a cultural sociological perspective, there will be an emphasis on the explanation of the
success of populism through forms of symbolic representation and action (narratives, performances,
icons) in their specific social and cultural environment (class structure, media, popular culture).
Course
Requirements
1. Regular attendance (miss more than two times and you are out!)
2. Being able to demonstrate knowledgeability of the required readings
3. A presentation in class (5-10 minutes)
4. Final paper (10-15 pages)
Assessment
Methods
Participation in class (10%), presentation (10%) and final paper (80%, deadline is January 15, 2023)
ECTS points 5
I 18.9. Organizational meeting (Binder & Havlík)
Zoom-Link https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/96257488555
II 25.9. What is Populism? (Havlík)
Required
Readings
Mudde, C. (2017). “Populism: An Ideational Approach.” In: C. R.Kaltwasser, P. A. Taggart, P. O. Espejo,
P. Ostiguy (eds.): The Oxford handbook of populism, pp. 27-47.
Rooduijn, M. (2013). “The Nucleus of Populism: In Search of the Lowest Common Denominator.” In:
Government and Opposition 49 (4), 573-599.
Presentation Stanley, Ben (2008). “The thin ideology of populism.” In: Journal of Political Ideologies, 13(1), 95-110.
III 2.10. What’s Wrong with “the People”? The Cultural Logic of Populism (Binder)
Required
Readings
Laclau, Ernesto (2005): “Populism: What's in a name?” In: Panizza, Francisco (ed.), Populism and the
Mirror of Democracy. London, New York: Verso, 32-49.
Müller, Jan-Werner (2014): “’The People Must Be Extracted from Within the People’: Reflections on
Populism”. In: Constellations 21(4), 483-493.
Presentations Mouffe, Chantal (2018): For a Left Populism. London: Verso.
Müller, Jan-Werner (2016): What is Populism? Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
IV 9.10. Many Faces of Populism (Havlík)
Required
Readings
Pauwels, Teun (2014): Populism in Western Europe. London: Routledge, pp. 12-31.
Učeň, Peter. (2004). “Centrist Populism as a New Competitive and Mobilization Strategy in Slovak
Politics.” In Gyarfášová, Oľga and Grigorij. Mesežnikov (eds.), Party Government in Slovakia:
Experience and Perspectives. Bratislava: Institute for Public Affairs, 45–73.
Presentation Mudde, C. (2007): Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
pp. 11-59.
V 16.10. Is Populism Bad for Democracy? (Havlík)
Required
Readings
Canovan, Margaret (1999): “Trust the People! Populism and the Two Faces of Democracy.” Political
studies 47 (1), 2 – 16, online http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9248.00184/pdf.
Mudde, Cas and Rovira Kaltwasser, Cristóbal (2012): “Populism and (liberal) democracy: A framework
for analysis”, in Mudde Cas and Rovira Kaltwasser Cristóbal (Eds.): Populism in Europe and Americas.
Threat or Corrective for Democracy? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1-26.
Presentation Zaslove, Andrej, & Meijers, Murits (2023). “Populist Democrats? Unpacking the Relationship Between
Populist and Democratic Attitudes at the Citizen Level.” Political Studies, online:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00323217231173800.
VI 23.10. Political Business as Usual? Populism, Democracy and the Civil Sphere (Binder)
Required
Readings
Alexander, Jeffrey C. (1998): “Citizen and Enemy as Symbolic Classification. On the Polarizing Discourse
of Civil Society”. In: Alexander, Jeffrey C. (ed.), Real Civil Societies. Dilemmas of Institutionalization.
London: Sage, 97-114.
Alexander, Jeffrey C. (2019): “Frontlash/Backlash: The Crisis of Solidarity and the Threat to Civil
Institutions”. In: Contemporary Sociology 48(1), 5-11.
Morgan, Marcus (2021): “Populism’s Cultural and Political Dynamics”. In: Alexander, Jeffrey C., Peter
Kivisto & Giuseppe Sciortino (eds.): Populism in the Civil Sphere. Cambridge; Medford: Polity, 17-
43.
Presentation Alexander, Jeffrey C. (2006): The Civil Sphere. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
VII 30.10. Reading week
VIII 6.11. Why Do Populist Succeed? (Havlík)
Required
Readings
Pauwels, T. (2014): Populism in Western Europe. London: Routledge, pp. 53-70.
Rooduijn, Matthijs (2018). “What unites the voter bases of populist parties? Comparing the
electorates of 15 populist parties.” European Political Science Review, 10 (3), 351-368.
Presentation Stanley, Ben (2017): “Populism in Central and Eastern Europe.” In: Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira, Paul
A. Taggart, Paulina Ochoa Espejo, Pierre Ostiguy (eds.): The Oxford Handbook of Populism, 140-
160.
IX 13.11 Populism as Performance (Binder)
Required
Readings
Moffitt, Benjamin (2015): "How to Perform Crisis: A Model for Understanding the Key Role of Crisis in
Contemporary Populism". In: Government and Opposition 50(2), 189-217.
Gauna, Aníbal F. (2018): “Populism, Heroism, and Revolution. Chávez’s Cultural Performances in
Venezuela, 1999–2012”. In: American Journal of Cultural Sociology 6(1), 37-59.
Presentations Ostiguy, Pierre (2017): “Populism: A Socio-Cultural Approach”. In: Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira, Paul
Taggart, Paulina Ochoa Espejo & Pierre Ostiguy (eds.): The Oxford Handbook of Populism. Oxford;
New York: Oxford University Press, 1-27.
Alexander, Jeffrey C. (2011): Performance and Power. Cambridge: Polity.
X 20.11 Populism and Emotions (Binder)
Required
Reading
Salmela, Mikko & Christian von Scheve (2017): "Emotional Roots of Right-wing Political Populism". In:
Social Science Information 56(4), 567-595.
Joosse, Paul & Dominik Želinský (2022): “Berserk! Anger and the Charismatic Populism of Donald
Trump”. In: Critical Sociology 48(6), 1073-1087.
Presentations Hochschild, Arlie Russel (2016): Strangers in their Own Land. Anger and Mourning on the American
Right. New York; London: New Press. [Focus on p. 135-153]
Weber, Max (1978): “Types of Legitimate Domination”. In: Economy and Society. Outline of an
Interpretative Sociology. Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 212-216, 241-254.
XI 27.11. Beyond Populism? Political Polarization and Culture Wars (Binder)
Required
Readings
Revers, Matthias (2023): "Performative Polarization: The Interactional and Cultural Drivers of Political
Antagonism". In: Cultural Sociology 0(0), 1-22.
Reckwitz, Andreas (2021): The End of Illusions. Politics, Economy, and Culture in Late Modernity.
Cambridge; Medford: Polity. 1-32.
Presentations Reckwitz, Andreas (2020/2017): The Society of Singularities. Cambridge; Medford: Polity.
Barša, Pavel, Zora Hesová & Ondřej Slačálek (2021, ed.): Central European Culture Wars: Beyond Postcommunism
and Populism. Prague: Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy.
XII 4.12 Anti-Populism: New Wine in Old Bottles? (Havlík)
Required
reading
Moffitt, Benjamin. (2018): “The Populism/Anti-Populism Divide in Western Europe.” Democratic
Theory, 5(2), 1-16.
Havlík, Vlastimil & Alena Kluknavská (2022): “The Populist Vs Anti-Populist Divide in the Time of
Pandemic: The 2021 Czech National Election and its Consequences for European Politics”. In: JCMS:
Journal of Common Market Studies 60, 76-87.
Presentation Hamdaoui, Soraya (2022). “A “stylistic anti-populism”: An analysis of the Sardine movement’s
opposition to Matteo Salvini in Italy”. In: Social Movement Studies, 21(4), 436-452.
XIII 11.12 Concluding Discussion (Binder & Havlík)
Required
Readings
Will be announced, if any.