Guest Lecture Giorgos Katsambekis
Populism and ‘the people’: beyond moralism and homogeneity
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Online)
9.3.21
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Online)
9.3.21
On 9 March 2021 Giorgos Katsambekis gave a lecture questioning one of the most central assumptions in much of the literature on populism, the assumption that populism is anti-pluralist due to a homogeneous and moralistic perspective on 'the people'. The lecture is followed by ample time for debate, moderated by Jana Goyvaerts (VUB).
This event is organized as part of the course “Populist and Radical Political Discourses in Europe”, taught by Benjamin De Cleen in the Journalism and Media in Europe Master.
Other guest lectures in the series:
Other guest lectures in the series:
- Ruth Breeze: nationalism and populism on the radical right: discursive approaches to populist claims and style (16 March)
- Jacopo Custodi: nationalism and populism in Podemos (23 March)
- Léonie de Jonge: the media and the populist radical right (30 March)
- Jana Goyvaerts: media and populism: defending what kind of democracy? (20 April)
- Katy Brown & Aurelien Mondon: media, populism and the mainstreaming of the radical right (27 April)
- Louise Knops: media, populism, indignation: insights from the radical-right (4 May)
When it comes to the study of populism, it has become almost common sense for a significant part of the scholarly community to understand every populist conception of ‘the people’ as primarily moralistic and necessarily homogenising. In the view of key scholars working with the so-called ‘ideational approach,’ like Cas Mudde, ‘the people’ is not only a homogenous and monolithic collective subject, it is also ‘pure’ and ‘virtuous,’ morally superior to their opponents. In this presentation, Giorgos Katsambekis draws on his recently published work to challenge this almost hegemonic assumption in the literature and public debates, highlighting why it is essentially flawed and how it can lead to both analytical and normative bias, as it uncritically equates populism with anti-pluralism and illiberalism. The aim is not to dismiss the ideational approach and its significant contribution to the study of populism, but rather to revise the homogeneity and morality theses, opening up the possibility of conceiving of ‘the people’ in terms of unity and understanding the latter’s antagonism towards the ‘establishment’ in terms of political struggle.
Giorgos Katsambekis is Lecturer in European and International Politics at Loughborough University and convener of the Populism Research Group (PRG). He has co-edited the volumes The Populist Radical Left in Europe (Routledge, 2019) and Radical Democracy and Collective Movements Today (Routledge, 2014). His articles have appeared in various peer-reviewed journals, such as the Journal of Political Ideologies, Constellations, Political Quarterly, Javnost–The Public and European Political Science.
Giorgos Katsambekis is Lecturer in European and International Politics at Loughborough University and convener of the Populism Research Group (PRG). He has co-edited the volumes The Populist Radical Left in Europe (Routledge, 2019) and Radical Democracy and Collective Movements Today (Routledge, 2014). His articles have appeared in various peer-reviewed journals, such as the Journal of Political Ideologies, Constellations, Political Quarterly, Javnost–The Public and European Political Science.