The Promise and Perils of Populism : Global Perspectives

From The Protesters In Cairo's Tahrir Square To The Tea Party In The United States To The Campaign To Elect Indigenous Leader Evo Morales In Bolivia, Modern Populist Movements Command International Attention And Compel Political And Social Change. When Citizens Demand Power To The People, They Evoke Corrupt Politicians, Imperialists, Or Oligarchies That Have Appropriated Power From Its Legitimate Owners. These Stereotypical Narratives Belie The Vague And Often Contradictory Definitions Of The Concept Of The People And The Many Motives Of Those Who Use Populism As A Political Tool. In The Promise And Perils Of Populism, Carlos De La Torre Assembles A Group Of International Scholars To Explore The Ambiguous Meanings And Profound Implications Of Grassroots Movements Across The Globe. These Trenchant Essays Explore How Fragile Political Institutions Allow Populists To Achieve Power, While Strong Institutions Confine Them To The Margins Of Political Systems. Their Comparative Case Studies Illuminate How Latin American, African, And Thai Populists Have Sought To Empower Marginalized Groups Of People, While Similar Groups In Australia, Europe, And The United States Often Exclude People Whom They Consider To Possess Different Cultural Values. While Analyzing Insurrections In Latin America, Advocacy Groups In The United States, Europe, And Australia, And Populist Parties In Asia And Africa, The Contributors Also Pose Questions And Agendas For Further Research. This Volume On Contemporary Populism From A Comparative Perspective Could Not Be More Timely, And Scholars From A Variety Of Disciplines Will Find It An Invaluable Contribution To The Literature. Introduction: Power To The People? Populism, Insurrections, Democratization / Carlos De La Torre -- Political Theology And Populism / Andrew Arato -- Power To Whom? The People Between Procedure And Populism / Paulina Ochoa Espejo -- The People As Re-presentation And Event / Benjamín Arditi -- Insurgencies Don't Have A Plan -- They Are The Plan: Political Performatives And Vanishing Mediators / Benjamín Arditi -- Populism, Political Mobilizations, And Crises Of Political Representation / Kenneth M. Roberts -- Populist Mobilization: A New Theoretical Approach To Populism / Robert S. Jansen -- Explaining The Emergence Of Populism In Europe And The Americas / Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser -- Free The People : The Search For True Democracy In Western Europe's Far-right Political Culture / José Pedro Zúquete -- A New American Populist Coalition? The Relationship Between The Tea Party And The Far Right / George Michael -- Contemporary Populism And The People In The Asia-pacific Region: Thaksin Shinawatra And Pauline Hanson / Benjamin Moffitt -- Varieties Of African Populism In Comparative Perspective / Danielle Resnick -- The Contested Meanings Of Insurrections, The Sovereign People, And Democracy In Ecuador, Venezuela, And Bolivia / Carlos De La Torre -- Popular Power In The Discourse Of Hugo Chávez's Government (1999-2013) / Margarita López Maya -- El Pueblo Boliviano, De Composición Plural: A Look At Plurinationalism In Bolivia / Nancy Postero -- Conclusion: Some Further Thoughts On Populism / Cas Mudde. Edited By Carlos De La Torre. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

From the protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square to the Tea Party in the United States to the campaign to elect indigenous leader Evo Morales in Bolivia, modern populist movements command international attention and compel political and social change. When citizens demand "power to the people," they evoke corrupt politicians, imperialists, or oligarchies that have appropriated power from its legitimate owners. These stereotypical narratives belie the vague and often contradictory definitions of the concept of "the people" and the many motives of those who use populism as a political tool.

In The Promise and Perils of Populism, Carlos de la Torre assembles a group of international scholars to explore the ambiguous meanings and profound implications of grassroots movements across the globe. These trenchant essays explore how fragile political institutions allow populists to achieve power, while strong institutions confine them to the margins of political systems. Their comparative case studies illuminate how Latin American, African, and Thai populists have sought to empower marginalized groups of people, while similar groups in Australia, Europe, and the United States often exclude people whom they consider to possess different cultural values. While analyzing insurrections in Latin America, advocacy groups in the United States, Europe, and Australia, and populist parties in Asia and Africa, the contributors also pose questions and agendas for further research.

This volume on contemporary populism from a comparative perspective could not be more timely, and scholars from a variety of disciplines will find it an invaluable contribution to the literature.

Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Introduction: Power to the People? Populism, Insurrections, Democratization Part I: The People and Populism 1. Political Theology and Populism 2. Power to Whom? The People between Procedure and Populism 3. The People as Representation and Event 4. Insurgencies Don’t Have a Plan—They Are the Plan: Political Performatives and Vanishing Mediators 5. Populism, Political Mobilizations, and Crises of Political Representation 6. Populist Mobilization: A New Theoretical Approach to Populism 7. Explaining the Emergence of Populism in Europe and the Americas Part II: Global Populism 8. “Free the People”: The Search for “True Democracy” in Western Europe’s Far-Right Political Culture 9. A New American Populist Coalition? The Relationship between the Tea Party and the Far Right 10. Contemporary Populism and “The People” in the Asia-Pacific Region: Thaksin Shinawatra and Pauline Hanson 11. Varieties of African Populism in Comparative Perspective 12. The Contested Meanings of Insurrections, the Sovereign People, and Democracy in Ecuador, Venezuela, and Bolivia 13. Popular Power in the Discourse of Hugo Chávez’s Government (1999–2013) 14. “El Pueblo Boliviano, de Composición Plural”: A Look at Plurinationalism in Bolivia Conclusion: Some Further Thoughts on Populism Acknowledgments Contributors Index