Populism in Times of Crisis

There is no denying the past decade of crises and the Covid-19 pandemic have led to new forms of contestation and have provided a fertile ground for the surge of populism in Europe (and elsewhere). It is therefore not surprising that, with the resurgence of (new) populist politicians, parties and movements, the study of populism has revived a lot of attention and that the literature on the multifaceted phenomenon of populism has been booming. This section aims at analyzing the relation between populism, democracy, representation and crises. It invites panels and papers dealing with any of the following aspects of populism: - The relation between populism and democratic representation: populism triggers many questions related to democratic representation: how does populism challenge existing representative institutions? What is the impact of populist actors in government? Do populist actors change democracy? What kind of strategies do populist actors develop in parliament? Are populist parties organized differently than non-populist parties? Does populism lead to changes in the mechanisms of citizens’ participation? - Populism in Central and Eastern Europe: while there is an extensive literature on Western Europe, there is comparatively less research on populism in Central and Eastern Europe. How does populism challenge the representative institutions, mainstream actors and, in general, democracies in CEE? To what extent are there differences in populism between Western and Central and Eastern Europe, and are these increasing or decreasing? -The relation between populism, science and expertise: populist actors and parties tend to flourish in times of crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic seems to trigger interesting changes for populist parties. More particularly, the relation between populism and science seems relatively understudied and this section invites papers on the adaptation of populist actors in relation to crises. Many populist actors are actively communicating against so-called authoritarian measures, advocating for liberty in the Covid-19 crisis and rejecting expert-based knowledge. What has been the dynamic between populist representations of COVID-19 and technocratic responses to the crisis? To what extent have populist parties contributed to a wider political debate on the institutional implications of the responses to the pandemic? How have populist parties and actors, in government or in opposition responded to the pandemic and how do they frame science and expertise? - Populism and social media: while there is a burgeoning literature on the relation between social media and populism, there is still limited empirical research on how populist actors use social media, what kind of discourse they use, what kind of emotions they trigger and with what impact. Another field of research includes a comparison between populist and non-populist actors’ strategies online. - Reaction to populism from mainstream parties: while there is much research on populism, there is still a lot we don’t know about the reaction of mainstream parties to their populist competitors. How do other mainstream parties than centre-right react to populists? How does adaption work beyond policy positions? Do mainstream parties take on anti-populist stances? This section invites panels and papers proposals on these broad topics related to populism and democracy. We welcome both case studies (at the national or supranational level) and comparative research designs, empirical and theoretical analyses, as well as experimental research.