Comparative Politics

B11(a) - Populism and Right-Wing Extremism

Date: Jun 4 | Time: 10:15am to 11:45am | Location:

Chair/Président/Présidente : Lucas Kins (ULB)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Kate Korycki (Western Ontario)

Building up the Backlash. Right-wing Populism and Indigenous Peoples in the Southern Cone: Lucas Savino (Huron University College)
Abstract: The paper analyses the re-emergence of right-wing populism in mainstream politics in the Southern Cone and what is has meant for neoliberal multicultural discourses, the politics of Indigenous rights recognition, and for the ongoing processes of Indigenous self-determination resulting from decades of mobilization, organization, negotiation and resistance. Focusing on Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile, the study suggests that Indigeneity has become a main target in policy and discourse for radical right-wing populist movements, whether they ended in government (e.g., Bolivia under Añez; Argentina under Milei; Brazil under Bolsonaro) or have had a significant impact and ongoing role in national politics (e.g., Chile during the Constitutional Convention; Argentina under the conservative government of Macri). The paper argues that while the backlash is part of a much broader radicalization of political discourse and political practices that target what these movements see as progressive or liberal ideology, the response is also a result of the shortcoming and failures of neoliberal multiculturalism to truly address the key demands of Indigenous self-determination and racial justice: territory and community-based government within the structure of the (multi)nation-state. Beyond the local distinctive features of each radical right-wing populist movement analyzed in the paper, the trend that is emerging is not only in detriment to the Neoliberal Multicultural Consensus of recent decades but an unsettling normalization of yet another wave of racism and violence against Indigenous peoples in the region in the context of new patterns of capitalist accumulation, particularly in the extractive sector of the economy.

Une science extrême : usage stratégique du discours scientifique par l’extrême droite en ligne: Antoine Lemor (Université de Montréal), Tristan Boursier (Université de Montréal)
Abstract: Cette communication analyse l’usage stratégique du discours scientifique par les influenceurs francophones d’extrême droite sur YouTube en France et au Québec (Fischer, Kolo, et Mothes 2022). Malgré une méfiance idéologique envers les institutions scientifiques, ces influenceurs intègrent de plus en plus des arguments scientifiques, notamment en biologie et en psychologie, pour légitimer leurs positions (Blee 2018; Lewis 2020). Ce paradoxe, accentué par la pandémie de COVID-19, interroge le rôle de la rhétorique scientifique dans la communication de ces acteurs. La question de recherche est : Quel rôle joue le discours scientifique dans les stratégies de communication des influenceurs d’extrême droite sur les médias sociaux ? Nous posons l’hypothèse que cette tendance représente une mutation discursive qui traduit une adaptation stratégique face à la régulation des plateformes et aux critiques idéologiques adverses (Hong 2020). S’appuyant sur une base de données de plus de 20 000 vidéos et 10 millions de commentaires, l’étude utilise des outils de transcriptions automatiques afin d’obtenir le contenu des vidéos; ce qui n’a encore jamais été réalisé à ce jour. Grâce à des techniques de traitement automatisé du langage naturel (TALN), sont identifiées les orientations idéologiques et les discours haineux afin de comprendre comment la rhétorique scientifique est employée dans un tel cadre. Cette recherche vise à comprendre les mécanismes qui favorisent la propagation des discours haineux sur les plateformes numériques et le rôle que jouent la science et la rhétorique scientifique dans ce contexte.

The Diffusion of Populism: Nicolas Bichay (Indiana University), Andrrew Halterman (Michigan State University), Christian Houle (Michigan State University), Shahryar Minhas (Michigan State University)
Abstract: While the domestic effects of populism are well known, the potential cross-border effects are not well understood. Is it the case that populism diffuses across borders, or rather are countries merely reacting similarly to contemporaneous exogenous shocks? Some argue that, like democratization, populism occurs in waves where entrepreneurial populists in one country take the success of their populist brethren in another as a signal of likely success. Others maintain that rises in populism within a country do not necessarily lead to rises in neighboring countries, but rather contemporaneous economic or immigration shocks simply lead to correlated demands for populism. We explore this by building a measure of party populism, allowing us to not only measure rises in support for populist parties, but also increases in populist rhetoric among more traditionally mainstream parties. Then, utilizing spatial diffusion models we analyze whether rises in populism in one country seep across borders, or rather remain domestically confined.

Collective memory and belonging in the area of right-wing populism: Kate Korycki (Western University)
Abstract: In this paper I explore why, and by what means, national political elites shape the emergent imaginary of “the people.” Adapting the framework of collective memory and anchoring the story in my recent book, Weaponizing the Past: Collective Memory, and Jews, Poles and Communists in 21st Century Poland, I argue that a) the narratives of past structure political competition, and b) affect the present-day notions of common belonging - that is, they determine political positions of players and they reveal who is included and excluded from the conception of the ‘we,’ (and if included, on what conditions). I first develop the concept of mnemonic capital - a politically productive symbolic resource that accrues to political players based on their turn to, and judgment of, the past. I identify three clusters of parties - all of which ruled Poland since transition to the present - based on the distribution of mnemonic capital. Second, I trace how the political and intellectual elites of each cluster weave the stories of the recent past, paying particular attention to the way they narrate Polish Jewish relations and their imbrications with communism. I demonstrate that despite narrative differences, all major political actors conflate communism with Jewishness. In doing so, they polarize the political field, elevate the nation as the main category of belonging, and racialize its meaning.