Understanding the Populist Shift: Othering in a Europe in Crisis (Extremism and Democracy)

During the European elections of 2014, one of the main issues raised by the media was the electoral performance of so called ‘populist parties'. The electorate confirmed its deep dissatisfaction with mainstream political parties, voting for far right parties in parliamentary elections in Northern Europe (Austria, Denmark, Sweden), Eastern Europe (Hungary, where the deeply anti-Semitic Jobbik party gained votes) and in France (where the French National Front won about a quarter of the vote), while in the Southern European countries, battered by austerity policies, it was the radical right and left in Greece (Golden Dawn and Syriza) and the radical left in Spain (Podemos) that obtained excellent scores. This book examines the growing trend towards far and extreme right populism that has emerged prominently in Northern (Finland), Western (Austria, Denmark, France, the UK), Southern (Greece, Italy) and Central/Eastern Europe (Slovenia, Bulgaria) since the 1990s. Providing a critical understanding of current European trends and analysing the complex phenomena covered by the notion of populism, this book will be of interest to students and scholars researching right-wing politics, as well as European politics more generally. 1. Introduction : the concept and its definitions / Giovanna Campani and Gabriella Lazaridis -- 2. Populism in historical perspectives / Giovanna Campani and Mojca Pajnik -- 3. Neo-fascist and neo-Nazi constellations : the cases of Italy and Austria / Giovanna Campani and Birgit Sauer -- 4. Populist othering and Islamophobia / Anne Benveniste, Gabriella Lazaridis and Heini Puurunen -- 5. Networks and alliances against the Islamisation of Europe : the case of the Counter-Jihad Movement / Gabriella Lazaridis, Marilou Polymeropoulou and Vasiliki Tsagkroni -- 6. Exclusive intersections : constructions of gender and sexuality / Birgit Sauer [und weitere] -- 7. Men's parties with women leaders : a comparative study of the right-wing populist leaders Pia Kjaersgaard, Siv Jensen and Marine Le Pen / Susi Meret, Birte Siim and Etienne Pingaud -- 8. Re/De/constructing far-right youth : between the lost generation and contestatory citizenship / Anna Krasteva -- 9. Democracy, post-democracy and the populist challenge / Giovanna Campani and Mojca Pajnik 1. Introduction: the concept and its definitions Giovanna Campani, Gabriella Lazaridis 2. Populism in historical perspectives Giovanna Campani and Mojca Pajnik3. The neo-fascist and neo-nazi constellations Giovanna Campani and Birgit Sauer4. Populist Othering and Islamophobia Anne Benveniste, Gabriella Lazaridis and Heini Puurunen5. Networks and alliances against the Islamisation of Europe: the case of the Counter Jihad Movement - Gabriella Lazaridis, Marilou Polymeropoulou, Vasiliki Tsagkroni6. Exclusive intersections: Constructions of gender and sexuality Birgit Sauer, Roman Kuhar, Edma Ajanovic and Aino Saarinen7. Men's parties with women leaders: A comparative study of the rightwing populist leaders Pia Kjaersgaard, Marine Le Pen and Siv Jensen Susi Meret, Birte Siim and Etienne Pingaud 8. De/ReConstructing Far-Right Youth: Between the Lost Generation and Contestatory Citizenship Anna Krasteva9. Democracy, post-democracy and the populist challenge Giovanna Campani and Mojca Pajnik Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- Notes on contributors -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Introduction: the concept and its definitions -- 2 Populism in historical perspectives -- 3 Neo-fascist and neo-Nazi constellations: the cases of Italy and Austria -- 4 Populist othering and Islamophobia -- 5 Networks and alliances against the Islamisation of Europe: the case of the Counter-Jihad Movement -- 6 Exclusive intersections: constructions of gender and sexuality 7 Men's parties with women leaders: a comparative study of the right-wing populist leaders Pia Kjærsgaard, Siv Jensen and Marine Le Pen -- 8 Re/De/constructing far-right youth: between the lost generation and contestatory citizenship -- 9 Democracy, post-democracy and the populist challenge -- Index