Global Populisms – serie

Populism is a contested concept when applied to Asia. In Populism in Asian Democracies: Features, Structures and Impacts, members of the Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN) discuss the diverse subtypes of populism in 11 countries across Asia, their structural elements and societal impacts. Populism takes on different forms in Asia according to its target, rhetoric and strategy. Redistributive populism stems from income inequality and rural poverty while ethno-religious populism represents a continued struggle between majority and minority groups. Progressive populism emphasizes democratic governance over corruption and factional politics, and authoritarian populism rises from government incompetence. As ADRN shows, the 11 Asian democracies have adopted various subtypes—and hybrids—of such populism models, adding importance to regional cooperation in safeguarding democracy.

Populism is a contested concept when applied to Asia. In Populism in Asian Democracies: Features, Structures and Impacts, members of the Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN) discuss the diverse subtypes of populism in 11 countries across Asia, their structural elements and societal impacts. Populism takes on different forms in Asia according to its target, rhetoric and strategy. Redistributive populism stems from income inequality and rural poverty while ethno-religious populism represents a continued struggle between majority and minority groups. Progressive populism emphasizes democratic governance over corruption and factional politics, and authoritarian populism rises from government incompetence. As ADRN shows, the 11 Asian democracies have adopted various subtypes—and hybrids—of such populism models, adding importance to regional cooperation in safeguarding democracy.

What explains the rise of populist nationalism in the contemporary phase of globalized development? Drawing on Karl Polanyi’s study of the great transformation, The Rise of the Capital-state and Neo-nationalism argues that populist nationalism is a societal reaction to the pro-market structural changes in the political economies of nation-states – conceptualized as the capital-state transformation. Oleksandr Svitych shows that there is an inextricable link between free market reforms, declining state legitimacy, and identity-based mobilization. Examining four case studies (Australia, France, Hungary, and South Korea) through a mixed method approach, the book finds that discontented voters gravitate toward populist neo-national political forces and embrace identity-based solutions – often in exclusivist and scapegoating forms – to harness their anxieties and insecurities triggered by the capital-state restructuring. Populist nationalism of both the left and the right has emerged to compensate for the real and perceived inability of the state to shield citizens from the corrosive effects of market fundamentalism. The Rise of the Capital-state and Neo-nationalism contributes to our understanding of the dynamics of the interrelated nature of state, capital, and identity politicization through a broader social theoretical perspective.*The Rise of the Capital-state and Neo-Nationalism is now available in paperback for individual customers.

What explains the rise of populist nationalism in the contemporary phase of globalized development? Drawing on Karl Polanyi’s study of the great transformation, The Rise of the Capital-state and Neo-nationalism argues that populist nationalism is a societal reaction to the pro-market structural changes in the political economies of nation-states – conceptualized as the capital-state transformation. Oleksandr Svitych shows that there is an inextricable link between free market reforms, declining state legitimacy, and identity-based mobilization. Examining four case studies (Australia, France, Hungary, and South Korea) through a mixed method approach, the book finds that discontented voters gravitate toward populist neo-national political forces and embrace identity-based solutions – often in exclusivist and scapegoating forms – to harness their anxieties and insecurities triggered by the capital-state restructuring. Populist nationalism of both the left and the right has emerged to compensate for the real and perceived inability of the state to shield citizens from the corrosive effects of market fundamentalism. The Rise of the Capital-state and Neo-nationalism contributes to our understanding of the dynamics of the interrelated nature of state, capital, and identity politicization through a broader social theoretical perspective.*The Rise of the Capital-state and Neo-Nationalism is now available in paperback for individual customers.

Demirsu offers an engaging comparative analysis of antagonistic social actors co-existing in Verona, a mid-sized city in northeast Italy renowned as the fortress of the far-right. This rich multidimensional analysis explores the intersection of space, identity, and social movements, by delving into the evolution of competing actors and their contending positions on identity and belonging as manifested through urban spaces.While the city and its touristic heritage are promoted for a transnational identitarian network, the protracted struggles of grassroots actors demonstrate democratic potentials for the bottom-up realization of inclusive and pluralist possibilities in hostile settings. The book traces the ways in which collective identity and collective action of social actors are shaped by their relationship to the space in which they operate, with ramifications for places beyond.