1 gen 2012 anni - The role of ideas: Vocabulary of Right Wing Populism

Descrizione:

“Populism’s central and permanent narrative is the juxtaposition of a (corrupt) ‘political class,’ ‘elite,’ or ‘establishment,’ and ‘the people,’ as whose sole authentic voice the populist party bills itself."
According to Thomas Greven’s report, right-wing populism adds a second antagonism of ‘us versus them.’ He writes “Based on a definition of the people as culturally homogenous, right-wing populists juxtapose its identity and common interests, with are considered to be based on common sense, with the identity and interests of ‘others,’ usually minorities such as migrants, which are supposedly favored by the (corrupt) elites.” Right-wing populists, says Greven, are not necessarily extremists, and extremists are not necessarily populists. “The latter, however, is very likely, as extremism lends itself to populism. The more ethno-centric the conception of the people, the more xenophobic the positioning against ‘the other,’ and the clearer the desire to overthrow the democratic system of governance, the more likely it is that a right-wing populist party is also extremist.”

Moreover, Greven writes that “right-wing populists also strategically and tactically use negativity in political communication. Supposed ‘political correctness’ and dominant discourses are at the same time the declared enemies of right-wing populists and their greatest friends. They allow the staging of calculated provocations and scandals, and of the breaking of supposed taboos. As this resonates with the needs of the media in terms of market demands and the news cycle, right-wing populist receive a lot of free media.”

According to an article by Chantal Mouffe, “right-wing populist parties are often the only ones that attempt to mobilize passions and to create collective forms of identifications. Against all those who believe that politics can be reduced to individual motivations and that it is driven by the pursuit of self-interest, they are well aware that politics always consists in the creation of an ‘us’ versus a ‘them’ and that it implies the creation of collective identities.”

Stating that the current state of liberal democratic societies is particularly favorable for the development of right-wing populism, Mouffe said “The displacement of the idea of popular sovereignty dovetails with the idea that there is no alternative to the present order and this contributes to the creation of an anti-political climate that is easily exploited to foment popular reactions against the governing elites.... ...To a great extent the success of right-wing populist parties comes from the fact that they provide people with some form of hope, with the belief that things could be different. Of course, this is an illusory hope, founded on false premises and on unacceptable mechanisms of exclusion where xenophobia usually plays a central role.”

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