The Transnational Dimension of Populism: Manifestations, Interactions, and Mobilisations

Abstract

Scholarly attention to the transnational and global dimensions of populism is relatively recent and has not yet spawned extensive research. It is, however, increasingly evident that international and transnational dimensions to populism do matter and may play a crucial role in the development and consolidation of populist mobilizations, discourses, and practices. Not only do national populist actors interchange ideas, practices, and resources with populist actors across borders, but we also increasingly witness attempts to mobilize beyond the level of the nation-state. This is equally true for mobilizations of a left-wing oriented, transnational counter-populism. In addition, there is an important ideological component in populism, in that national populist actors show extensive scepticism to universalist ideas (such as human rights), to global political projects (in the form of liberal cosmopolitanism), and to international institutions (including, e.g., the EU and ECtHR). In contrast, in transnational populism, one frequently finds a clearly opposing, anti-national populism stance, with a strong endorsement for supranational integration. This panel wants to contribute to the debate on the transnational dimension of populism, in particular from a political-sociological perspective, and distinguishing between different transnational manifestations, including populist mobilization beyond national contexts (and attempts to construct a transnational people), the international mobilization of predominantly nationally operating political actors, the transnational diffusion of populist ideas and practices between political actors, and the mobilization against distinctive transnational institutions by populists. The participants will address the transnational dimension of populism from a range of perspectives, contributing to a further expansion of our knowledge and understanding of the transnational aspects of the phenomenon.