Browsing by Subject "populism"

Populist has become a label thrown at politicians and parties, by media professionals, political opponents or in popular discourse. At the same time, cases like Boris Johnson’s Brexit campaign and Donald Trump’s US presidency have showed a potentially new form of populism, emerging from established political parties, with no discernible populist past and over a century of institutional history. When these two trends are present at the same time, academic enquiry into such cases of labelling established parties as populist is warranted. This study examines such a case. By taking a discursive-ideational approach to populism, I assess what elements of populism are present in the Facebook communication of Norwegian party Senterpartiet leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, in the year running up to the September 2021 parliamentary election. The party’s agrarian roots, rural voter base and historical opposition to centralisation and urbanisation means the objective is to specifically establish traits that can be traced to the agrarian populist tradition, where the urban/rural divide and conflict over centralisation and the emergence of urban values sit at the centre. This thesis relies on data material sourced from Trygve Slagsvold Vedum’s public Facebook page in the 12 months running up to the election. Following a constructionist theoretical approach and utilizing a discourse analytical framework to analyse texts and images posted on the page, I establish elements which constitute discourses, in order to assess the political antagonism in the data material for articulations of a populist antagonism. I conclude that there are several elements found within the data that constitute a populist antagonism, establishing meanings and demands which articulate a people and elite in opposition to each other. There are also clear elements which show the frontier between these two groups is predominantly created by conflict along the urban/rural divide, such as centralisation, the emergence of urban values and foreign influence. There is however contrary evidence which suggests the case subject cannot be called a populist movement, even if there are strong elements of populism present in the discourses.

There has been a vivid public debate in Finland about the women and children who have been staying at al-Hol camp in Syria after the collapse of the ISIS caliphate. This thesis investigates the public debate in the media about these Finnish women and children. Using the method of qualitative content analysis, I examine 117 articles from Helsingin Sanomat from the period from May 1st to December 31st, 2019. My aim is to analyze the key issues that are raised in the debate; how the women and children are depicted; and the linkages between this debate and the changes taking place in the larger Finnish context. These changes involve on the one hand the society becoming more multi-religious, and on the other hand the rise of right-wing populism, anti-immigration, and Islamophobia. The theoretical basis of my analysis is the concept of othering in social sciences, namely the act of creating and using oppositional categories of ‘us’ versus ’them’, which are, for example, based on religion or race. The results show that the women are depicted as ’the dangerous Muslim other’ who could pose a security threat if they are brought back to Finland. These depictions are also shaped by the larger Finnish context, where there are contestations especially around religious diversity that is increasingly becoming a characteristic of society, about Finnishness as a modern identity, and about the challenges of Muslim communities today. My analysis also shows that while children’s rights and wellbeing remain an important goal of Finnish policies and legal obligations, the rights of the Finnish children in the camp have been contested in this debate. This is partly because of legal complexities regarding their repatriation to Finland, and partly because of a security-oriented perspective that sees some of the children as suspects and their relationship with their mothers as a problem. Overall, the analysis shows that the debate about these women and children at al-Hol is not just about whether the people should be repatriated, but about the current changes in Finnish society and the anxieties related to these changes.

Världspolitiken har förändrats under det senaste årtiondet. Militära kriser i Mellanöstern, i synnerhet i Syrien, har lett till vad medier kallar för en flyktingkris i Europa. Den nyliberala globaliseringen och det ökade transnationella samarbetet har förändrat uppfattningen om demokratin i suveräna nationer. De här stora samhälleliga förändringarna har skapat en konservativ motkraft: en ny form av politisk populism. Den här kandidatavhandlingen har två syften. För det första ämnar jag besvara vad den nya högerradikala populismen är, hur den har kommit till och vad den innebär för den västerländska liberaldemokratin. För det andra argumenterar jag för kategoriseringen av det finska populistiska partiet Sannfinländarna som en medlem i den europeiska högerradikala populistiska partifamiljen, trots partiets förnekande av högerradikalism. Som ett teoretiskt ramverk använder jag Cas Muddes (2007) definition av högerradikal populism (populist radical right). Definitionen är känd och vitt godkänd av teoretiker inom populismforskning: en stor del av den litteratur som hänvisas till i den här avhandlingen är baserad på Muddes (2007) definition. I koppling till Sannfinländarna argumenterar jag för kategoriseringen av partiet som högerradikalt med hjälp av forskning av den brittiska samhällsvetaren David Arter (2010) och den finländska samhällsvetaren Niko Pyrhönen (2015). Högerradikala populister förkastar principer om social jämlikhet samt förespråkar konservativa värderingar, de förespråkar en radikal förändring i samtida politiska system, de motsätter sig liberaldemokrati utan att förkasta grundläggande demokratiska principer och de hänvisar till folkets förbittring och förnuft för att legitimera den konservativa och ofta främlingsfientliga politiken. Inom ramen för definitionen på högerradikal populism bör Sannfinländarna kategoriseras som ett högerradikalt populistiskt parti. Sannfinländarna förespråkar en etnokratisk välfärdsmodell, kritiserar de traditionella regeringspartierna för att utöva nyliberal och transnationell politik som bortser från det finska folkets intressen och hänvisar till (det finska) folkets rätt till den finska demokratiska makten. Som Pyrhönen (2015) noterar, har Sannfinländarna framgångsrikt distanserat sig från den högerradikala och främlingsfientliga politiken genom sitt stöd för den finska välfärds(national)staten.

The counterintuitive relationship between Finland/Finnishness and coloniality – traces of colonialism in contemporary society and culture – is an expanding area of academic research. This thesis contributes to the field by reflecting on this relationship with a focus particularly on manifestations of issues of coloniality in public debates on social media. On these platforms, contrasting political groups engage in discursive struggles over the construction of memory and identity narratives. The context of the research is the international wave of protests that started in the summer of 2020, which attracted vast popular attention to racism and inequality, and the colonial power structures lying behind them. The social movements began in North America and expanded to Western Europe, where the history of imperialism and colonization is apparent – but the debate also reached Finland, a country that has, until recently, rarely been associated with questions of colonialism and coloniality. This thesis aims to shed light on Finland’s relationship to coloniality as a periphery-of-the-center space, which retains a share of colonial complicity, but also distinct differences vis-à-vis traditional colonial centers. The approach of the study is interdisciplinary, synthesizing features of postcolonial/decolonial theory, discourse theory and memory studies. The research identifies three of the dimensions in which coloniality is involved in discursive struggles in Finland: acknowledgement, reconciliation, and cosmetic decoloniality. In the research, these dimensions are represented, respectively, by three case studies: the Afrikan tähti boardgame, the public apology by MP Pirkka-Pekka Petelius to the indigenous Sámi people, and the rebranding of traditional consumer products exhibiting stereotypical orientalist names and imagery. Each case study includes an analysis of a social media discussion thread related to it. A central analytical framework is provided by Laclau’s discourse theory applied to populist movements, which emphasizes the convergence of attitudes and values within a group following equivalential logic, and the construction of antagonistic frontiers between different groups. By means of qualitative analysis, the thesis reflects on these processes particularly as they pertain to discursive struggles related to coloniality in Finland on social media, where such polarizing features can be identified. Finland is, in its own way, embedded in coloniality, and issues related to coloniality are an increasingly contentious topic in Finnish public debate. Negotiations and struggles over narrative and identity construction can be seen to follow ideological lines to some extent, but there is plenty of nuance in the re-negotiation of Finnish identity in the comparatively novel context of coloniality. Further, more detailed and broader study of discursive struggles related to coloniality and decoloniality is in order, as these issues become ever more prevalent in Finland.

The United States presidential elections are one of the most followed events in the world. The 2016 presidential elections will be remembered as one of the contentious elections ever. Donald Trump became the president against all odds. His campaign slogans “Make America Great Again” and “America First” promised to return the power to the people and redefine Americas’ role in the world. Trump’s campaign speeches were full of rhetoric that echoed the sentiments of the past presidents. His nativist speeches were full of anti-establishment appeals and racially heated language. The political polarization had divided the country, and amidst this Trump rose to presidency. His victory was rooted in the cultural and political changes that began decades earlier, and Trump’s presidency was the culmination of long-term developments. The thesis examines how Donald Trump used history politics in his general election campaign speeches. The primary sources of the thesis consist of general election speeches, from March to November in 2016. The thesis utilizes qualitative content analysis, in which primary sources are critically examined and compared, within the framework of history politics. The thesis relies on Jouni Tilli’s policy concept typology of history politics and Pilvi Torsti’s definition of history politics. The definitions of politicization and engagement in politics are a useful tool for analysing how Donald Trump blurred the line between myth, history and the past in his speeches. The theoretical framework of history politics refers to history being used in politics; it can manifest through political motives. Using history in political speeches is away to create a connection between the past and the present. The thesis also employs populism, which is used as analytical tool, when examining the political speeches. The thesis employs source-based analysis of primary sources, through research questions, within the framework of history politics. As well as looks how populism is expressed in the campaign speeches. The thesis also examines the rhetoric and themes of the Trump campaign, in order to understand the wider context and the outcomes of history politics. The analysation of the primary sources revealed that Trump exploited the conservative populist rhetoric that intertwined with history. His campaign message was appealing to the white working- and middle-class voters, who felt like they had been overlooked and left behind by the politicians and society. Trump capitalized on Richard Nixon’s “Silent Majority” and Ronald Reagan’s “Make America Great Again” narratives and transformed it to fit his populistic rhetoric. Trump presented himself as an outsider who provided simple solutions to big issues. He used history to justify the political rhetoric of the campaign. The most important result of the thesis was that history was politicized and used as the pivotal narrative in Trump’s campaign speeches. The history politics framework provided the thesis platform from which the campaign speeches could be analysed, and it created a context for the motives of using history in politics. Trump reused the political rhetoric of the past and intertwined it with populism.

Since the rise of the Law and Justice (PiS) party to power in 2015 the PiS government's reforms have led to a deterioration of the rule of law, which has caused growing tensions in Polish-EU relations. Poland has come under scrutiny for its policies undermining the rule of law principle and is perceived to threaten European integration by challenging the EU’s values. PiS’ time in office coincides with the trend of the success of right-wing populist parties in the CEE which has generated increased academic interest in the region. Despite growing interest towards Poland and the topic of shared values in the EU, studies on the perception of the EU in Polish internal debates have received less attention. A recent escalation in the rule of law crisis was seen in the Autumn of 2021, when the Polish Constitutional Tribunal ruled against the primacy of European Union law vis-à-vis the Polish Constitution. The Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling caused public uproar, sparking protests in Poland’s largest cities, and public debate ensued about the potential of Polexit. In analysing the Polexit debate by means of discourse analysis, the thesis examines what meanings the EU and Europe receive in opposition and government rhetoric. The thesis further explores how different meanings surrounding the EU and Europe are used in the construction of political identification of government and opposition sides. The theoretical frame of the thesis is based on social constructivism, post-foundationalism and Laclau’s theory of populism. By focusing on the Polexit debate, the thesis analyses the construction of meanings against an individual event which nevertheless caused debate that directly concerns the relations of Poland and Europe. In the analysis, the thesis finds that the opposition and government sides relate to the notions of Europe and the EU in contrasting ways, which enable them to build identification based on different conceptions of Polishness. Main findings of the analysis point to contrasting logics in government and opposition rhetoric which reflect the sides’ contrasting perceptions of nationhood; whereas the EU is constructed as a threat and an “other” in government rhetoric, the opposition aims to link Poland to the EU and Europe in constructing the opposition’s “us”.

Populism has become one of the defining isms of the 21st century, seen as a pest by some political movements and used as an insult, while being worn as a badge of honour by others. Despite its heavy usage, its definition remains contested. This thesis aims to empirically study the prevalence of populism in contemporary election manifestos of select Swedish and Finnish parties using an ideational approach. Simultaneously, the ease of usage of the ideational approach, as claimed by its adherents, was tested. In the empirical material, only Vänsterpartiet of Sweden out of the eight parties in scope showcased all three central elements of ideational populism, i.e., a frame of the elite against the people and the people’s general will as a central guide to politics. Whereas the ideational approach indeed provided a good guide to operationalization, its theoretical framework proved rigid when used for analysis. Competing definitions, such as the discursive one, have their merits and future research in populism could benefit from using different definitions on shared empirical materials to further develop the theoretical frameworks.

Efter den globala finanskrisen har den politiska ordningen rubbats ordentligt i västvärlden. Populistiska och extremistiska partier från såväl höger och vänster har skördat stora framgångar i europeiska länder och etablerat sig i beslutsfattande församlingar. Detta har orsakat debatt om hur välmående demokratin är och att det skulle vara frågan om de mindre bemedlades hämnd mot det så kallade gamla partierna. Nästan all samhällsvetenskaplig forskning har visat att det lägsta valdeltagandet kan observeras bland de minst bemedlade, vilka också med större sannolikhet kan lägga sin röst på extremare partier. Tidigare forskning har fokuserat på flera olika länder som kan skilja sig mycket vad kommer till institutionella och politiska faktorer, vilket kan påverka valdeltagande och olika partiers stöd rätt så mycket. Det kan därför bli problematiskt att jämföra resultaten så en avgränsning enligt metoden ”most similar systems design” bör användas. För att undersöka detta fenomen har jag i den här avhandlingen därför fokuserat att granska hur det ser ut i fyra nordiska länder, alltså Sverige, Finland, Norge och Danmark. Dessa länder har en liknande historia vad kommer till institutioner, politisk kultur, politiska system, etnicitet, religion osv. Denna forskning är en enkel kvantitativ makroanalys där jag utgår från ”rational choice”, alltså teorin om individens nyttomaximering, för att kunna ta reda på om det existerar trender som kan bekräfta rådande rön om valdeltagande och mobilisering av väljare som vanligtvis väljer att inte rösta. Totalt undersöks 125 parlamentsval i norden sen 1910-talet och all form av radikalism såsom vänster, höger och klassiskt liberal tas i betraktande. Som utgångspunkt används en undersökning från år 2020 där det konstaterades att sambandet mellan ökat valdeltagande och populistiska/extremistiska partiers stöd endast kan observeras i östeuropa medan det inte kunde observeras någon signifikant skillnad i västeuropa. Forskningens nollhypotes säger att det existerar ett samband mellan ett stigande valdeltagande och ökat stöd för extremare partier. De forskningsmetoder som tillämpades var statistisk sambandsanalys och jämförande analys. I sambandsanalysen såg jag på hur ofta variablerna ”steg” och ”minskade” för såväl valdeltagande och partiernas totala stöd korrelerade med varandra. Resultatet av den statistiska sambandsanalysen visade att det inte existerar ett statistiskt signifikant samband mellan dessa variabler och utfall, vilket innebär att nollhypotesen falsifierades. Fördelningen av de olika utfallen var totalt sett relativt jämn men också länderna emellan. Resultaten av denna forskning bekräftar i en avgränsad nordisk kontext det som tidigare forskning kommit fram till. I västeuropeiska länder kan ett samband mellan populistiska/extremistiska partiers stöd och ett ökat valdeltagande inte noteras. Den jämförande analysen jag använde som stöd och för att förklara delar av resultatet gav inte några motsägande tolkningar. Det är möjligt att observera historiska tidpunkter då radikalismen växt i alla dessa nordiska länder för att sedan igen minska, men några signifikanta gemensamma faktorer kunde man inte observera. Radikalismen har sett olika ut i länderna och det har även skillnaderna i valdeltagandet. På basis av detta kan man konstatera att trots likheterna nordiska länder emellan, existerar skillnader vad kommer till valdeltagandets medeltal, stabilitet och antalet partier som etablerat sig i länderna. Skillnaderna torde främst handla om förflyttningen av väljare mellan etablerade partier och de mera radikala partierna, istället för att icke-röstande mobiliseras.