Emergence of an (European) Anti-populist Movement: Insights from the Italian Sardines and the Finnish Herrings

This study investigates the dynamics of the emergence and spread of recent anti-populist movements by comparatively analyzing the ‘6000 Sardine’ movement in Italy and the ‘Silakkaliike’ movement in Finland. Although there is a rich literature on populism and diffusion of populist movements, the topic of anti-populist movements has remained mostly untouched in these discussions. By analyzing these two cases, this study aims to conceptualize and contextualize the anti-populist movements and the mechanisms of their national, transnational and cross-national diffusion. For this purpose, we conducted twenty-six semi-structured in-depth interviews with the (1) organizers and participants of ‘6000 Sardines’ in Italy, (2) organizers and participants of ‘6000 Sardines’ in other EU countries, and (3) organizers and participants of ‘Silakkaliike’ movement, which was explicitly inspired by 6000 Sardines, in Finland. Drawing on Grounded Theory applied to the analysis of these twenty-six interviews and movement manifestos, this study introduces a general framework for the anti-populist movements. The findings demonstrate that these movements emerge as a reaction not only to the populist discourse and actors, but also to the crisis of representation in domestic politics. The concept of ‘value’ and its discursive use by the movements has a significant role in the emergence and rapid popularization of these movements. Challenging both populist and polarizing discourse, these value-oriented movements are distinguished from the previous progressive movements by their focus on politicizing and mobilizing apolitical citizens through socialization in squares and social media platforms. Using casual and entertaining repertoires of action to increase levels of participation is also a distinctive feature of these movements. In addition to revealing the internal dynamics of these new movements, this study also explores their transnational dimensions and diffusion mechanisms based on cognitive and emotional processes.