Post-truth populism: a new political paradigm?

Abstract

The panel will analyze the convergence between ‘post-truth’ political culture and the politics of right-wing populism. The premise is that there is an intrinsic link between ‘post-truth’ discourse (referring to mis/disinformation, ‘alternative facts’, conspiracy theories and the general distrust of expert knowledge and official sources of information) and the central narrative of populism, which opposes the ‘common sense’ wisdom of ordinary people to the ‘expert knowledge’ of technocratic elites. This has led to a rejection not only of traditional sources of information and news like the mainstream media – dismissed by populist politicians as ‘fake news’ – but also to a denial of scientific expertise around climate change and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines and related public health messaging and policies. It is clear, furthermore, that, rather than the COVID-19 pandemic restoring the legitimacy and authority of expert knowledge and evidence-based policy (and politics), it has only led a proliferation of ‘alternative facts’ and disinformation strategies, including conspiracy theories, actively promoted by populist forces and leaders as a way of increasing political polarization, undermining trust in established sources of knowledge and mobilizing key constituencies. Furthermore, post-truth populism mobilizes its own alternative truth narrative intended to promote an illiberal, socially conservative and authoritarian agenda around issues of gender, immigration, minority rights, and national identity. Given the importance of trust in public institutions, as well as the public sphere as a space of communication and deliberation amongst citizens, it is crucial to explore the specific ways in which these are being challenged by post-truth populism. The panel aims to understand, from theoretical and empirical perspectives (including case studies), the parameters of an emerging political paradigm and to explore its implications for liberal political values and institutions. The approach taken is to understand right-wing populism, and its convergence with postfactual politics, as a major force of fragmentation and destabilisation, thus constituting a threat to liberal democratic institutions and values, such as the rule of law, pluralism, the respect for individual and minority rights, and the independence of the media and the judiciary. The panel’s original contribution to the emerging field of study is to develop a strong, coherent and empirically informed theoretical framework for understanding the specific epistemo-political paradigm of post-truth populism. We will propose this paradigm as a way of interpreting different contemporary political phenomena, such as conspiracy theories, political destabilization, and debates around immigration, EU integration, the role of journalists and the media, climate change, gender and sexuality, Islam, and minority rights. The panel includes papers from experts in the fields of public communication, culture and media studies, political science, and international relations, who have written on the interconnections between post-truth and contemporary populist politics.

Title	Details
Democracy and Populist-troublemaking: Popular Truth and Politics	View Paper Details
Nostalgic Post-Truth: Towards an Anti-Humanist Theory of Communication	View Paper Details
”All Janša has is anti-communism": post-truth politics and the case of Slovenia	View Paper Details
Discursive Weaponization of Populist Conspiracy Theories	View Paper Details