KEY IDEAS Populism: An Introduction is the frst introduction to the theme of populism. It will introduce the principal theories, defnitions, models and contemporary debates. A number of global case studies will be used to illustrate the concept: POPULISM POPULISM • Russian populism; An Introduction • Latin American populism; • Italian populism. Populism will refect on the sociology of democratic processes and investigate the evolution of political consensus in contemporary political systems. Tis book will appeal to academics and postgraduate students working in the feld of sociology, political sociology and politics. Manuel Anselmi is an Assistant Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Perugia, Italy. Manuel Anselmi Manuel Anselmi Sociology/Political Teory/Political Sociology Cover image © Emma Espejo / Getty Images ISBN 978-1-138-28716-7 www.routledge.com 9 781138 287167 Routledge titles are available as eBook editions in a range of digital formats POPULISM Populism is the first introduction to the theme of populism. It will introduce the principal theories, definitions, models and contem- porary debates. A number of global case studies will be used to illustrate the concept: · Russian populism · Latin American populism · Italian populism. Populism: An Introduction will reflect on the sociology of demo- cratic processes and investigate the evolution of political con- sensus in contemporary political systems. This book will appeal to academics and postgraduate students working in the field of sociology, political sociology and politics. Manuel Anselmi is an Assistant Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Perugia, Italy. 1st Proofs – Not for Distribution. PAI.indb 1 02-06-2017 20:15:20 KEY IDEAS Series Editor: Peter Hamilton Designed to compliment the successful Key Sociologists, this series covers the main concepts, issues, debates and controversies in sociology and the social sciences. The series aims to provide authoritative essays on central topics of social science, such as community, power, work, sexu- ality, inequality, benefits and ideology, class, family, etc. Books adopt a strong ‘individual’ line, as critical essays rather than literature sur- veys, offering lively and original treatments of their subject matter. The books will be useful to students and teachers of sociology, political sci- ence, economics, psychology, philosophy and geography. For a full list of titles in this series, please visit https://www.routledge. com/Key-Ideas/book-series/SE0058. Knowledge Marian Adolf & Nico Stehr Renewable Energies Matthias Gross and Rüdiger Mautz Sustainability Thomas Pfister, Martin Schweighofer and André Reichel Knowledge – second edition Is Knowledge Power? Marian Adolf and Nico Stehr Sexuality – fourth edition Jeffrey Weeks Social Capital – third edition John Field 1st Proofs – Not for Distribution. Patriarchy Pavla Miller Populism: An Introduction Manuel Anselmi PAI.indb 2 02-06-2017 20:15:20 POPULISM An Introduction Manuel Anselmi TRANSLATED BY LAURA FANO MORRISEY 1st Proofs – Not for Distribution. PAI.indb 3 02-06-2017 20:15:20 First published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 Manuel Anselmi The right of Manuel Anselmi to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data [CIP data] ISBN: 978-1-138-28715-0 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-28716-7 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-26839-2 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India 1st Proofs – Not for Distribution. PAI.indb 4 02-06-2017 20:15:20 CONTENTS Acknowledgements viii Introduction: the populist option 1 1 Preliminary elements of the concept of populism 5 PART I Theorists 9 2 Gino Germani: national-populism and modernization 11 3 Edward Shils: public sphere and populism in the US 15 4 Ghița Ionescu and Ernest Gellner: the foundation of studies on populism 18 5 Margaret Canovan and the shadow of democracy 23 6 Laclau: the construction of the political 30 1st Proofs – Not for Distribution. 7 Mény and Surel: sovereignty, constitution and the people 35 8 The recent debate 39 PAI.indb 5 02-06-2017 20:15:20 vi Contents PART II Major cases 49 9 Russian populism 51 10 Perón and Peronism 55 11 Left-turn and neo-populisms in Latin America 60 12 Italian neo-populism 66 PART III Other typologies and other problems 71 13 Penal populism 73 14 Cultural populism 78 15 Media populism 83 16 Constitutional populism 87 17 How to study populism: analytical prospects for social research 91 18 Concluding remarks. Democracy and populism: which perspectives? 100 Index 111 1st Proofs – Not for Distribution. PAI.indb 6 02-06-2017 20:15:20 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A special thank you goes to Leonardo Morlino, Manuel Alcántara Sáez, Michele Sorice, Simón Pachano, Carlos de la Torre and Carlo Ruzza, who gave me the chance to discuss many of the theses supported here. I owe a lot to my wife Federica and to my family, without their support this would never have been written.In memory of Angelo Anselmi, my father. 1st Proofs – Not for Distribution. PAI.indb 7 02-06-2017 20:15:20 1st Proofs – Not for Distribution. PAI.indb 8 02-06-2017 20:15:20 INTRODUCTION The populist option After the Brexit vote, which decreed the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union; after the American presi- dential elections, which brought Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States of America, 2016 will be remembered as the year of populism. The word populism seems to be one of the most widely used by international political commentators. However, global public opinion seems to have become accustomed to polit- ical surprises such as sudden changes that are legitimized from the bottom up and are directed against the so-called establishment. Populism is no longer an extreme hypothesis in the demo- cratic game; no longer a deviation, an anomaly, a degeneration or a pathology of democracy, as it was often defined in the past. Populism today is, to all intents and purposes, a highly probable option of democracy, not only related to social movements but also institutionalized and ruling entities. A reflection on contemporary democracy cannot be detached from a reflection on populism. Maybe, for this reason, it would be more appropriate to talk about a populist phase of democracies, but this is a judgement that we will leave to future political his- torians. Certainly, we can say that we are witnessing a social and political dynamic1st Proofs which started– Not some for Distribution.decades ago, that appears periodically and is of a global nature, as it manifests itself in very different geographical contexts. Given its geographical and social variety, populism always needs to be contextualized: the com- plexity of populism must be read and analyzed in conjunction PAI.indb 1 02-06-2017 20:15:20 2 Introduction with the respective social processes of democratization. Populism is deeply linked to the structural transformations of western democracies, which are increasingly exposed to plebiscitarian swerves and are under constant attack from private interests. In the attempt to understand this degeneration of democracies, Colin Crouch has talked of “post-democracy” (Crouch, 2004), and more recently, Nadia Urbinati has used the term “disfigured democracy” (Urbinati, 2014). As I will try and explain, populism must be considered as a com- plex phenomenon deeply connected with democracy, while reduc- tionist interpretations must be avoided. Populism is a modality of social expression of popular sovereignty, which acquires different forms but has some very specific traits that are determined by the social conditions of the context where it manifests itself. It is a demand for more democracy on the part of citizens; however, once it has taken hold, it can even generate an involution of democratic institutions. Therefore, I do not agree with those who describe pop- ulism as a mere phenomenon of protest or a reaction to the crisis of democracy. Although the word is the object of much polemic and criticism, it refers to a complexity of phenomena which are key to democracy and which need to be investigated. In this book, I aim to introduce and guide the reader through this complexity, illustrating the main theories and the most sig- nificant hermeneutic approaches. The volume is aimed at under- graduate students who are willing to approach the understanding of this problem in an analytical and value-free manner. At the same time, it can also be a useful instrument for all those who are interested in forming an initial idea on the subject. There is much confusion around this concept, owing to the heated discussions around it and for the deep variety of cases, which often seem difficult to compare. Populism is a complex, consolidated1st and manifoldProofs configuration– Not for Distribution.of political power based on popular sovereignty, which has changed over time along with changes in politics, and which now represents an independent field of scientific analysis. At the same time, it is multidisciplinary, encompassing political science, political sociology, communica- tion theory and social psychology.