About Rethinking Populism

At a time when new political actors are mounting electoral and increasingly systemic challenges to contemporary democracies in the name of the people, there is little consensus on the meaning of populism among academics, political activists and citizens alike. openDemocracy has been featuring articles on populist phenomena for some years and has been successful in stimulating a recurring interest. But despite, or perhaps because of the extensive and thought-provoking research on populism, the term has come to denote a range of widely diverse phenomena.

#Rethinkingpopulism is the product of a partnership between diverse organizations, academics and commentators that seeks to bring together voices that don’t often interact, either because they belong to different fields of work, or as a result of geographical distance, to contribute to a vigorous and constructive, yet widely accessible debate and the cross-fertilization of different strands within the populism theoretical oeuvre. This is not only in pursuit of theoretical and conceptual clarity, but it is also an issue of practical urgency if we are to develop effective, progressive political strategies.

#Rethinkingpopulism aims to challenge the monological single-article model and to actively foster critical dialogue. It is a space open to diverse voices and opinions among scholars, activists and citizens alike. To this end it utilizes multiple platforms that can facilitate debate and make it accessible to diverse publics.

#Rethinkingpopulism is edited by Spyros A. Sofos and is supported by a steering committee.

Partners

Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University

Department of International Relations, Istanbul Bilgi University

Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki

Swedish South Asian Studies Network, Lund University

Mainstreaming Populism, Academy of Finland

In association with the

Lund University Populism Forum

WhiKnow Project

Whirl of Knowledge:

Cultural Populism and Polarization in European Politics & Societies

#Rethinkingpopulism editorial team

Spyros A. Sofos (Lund University), Editor

Steering committee

Rosemary Bechler - OpenDemocracy

Emre Erdogan - Department of International Relations, Istanbul Bilgi University

Juha Herkman - Mainstreaming Populism, Academy of Finland and Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki

Walid El Houri - OpenDemocracy

Andreas Johansson - Swedish South Asian Studies Network, Lund University

Catarina Kinnval - Department of Political Science, Lund University

Emilia Palonen - Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki

Virpi Salojärvi - Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki

Bilge Yabanci - Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz