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Journal volume 17, 2020, issue 1

Rechts- und Linkspopulismus / Right-Wing and Left-Wing Populism

Editorial


Articles

Cas Mudde:
Populismus in Europa: Von den Rändern zum Mainstream (S. 13–34)

Despite the enormous growth of academic interest during the past years, there is still significantly more known about the consequences than the causes of populism. This issue can be addressed by analyzing not only the historical developments of populism itself, but also the relationship between two core cornerstones of it’s ideology: people and elite. Focussing the evolutionary changes of this antagonism unveils that populism arises due to a complex set of structural factors which reshaped the social framework for politicians and their voters. It’s therefore very likely that populism, either as a correctiv or as a threat to liberal democracy, will continue to be relevant within European politics.


Philip Manow:
Welche Rolle spielen Wohlfahrtsstaatlichkeit und Globalisierung für die Ausprägungen des Populismus? (S. 35–44)

The article interprets the rise of populism as an expression of protest against globalization. Globalization is here conceived - with Dani Rodrik – as manifesting itself either in the cross-border movement of goods and capital or in the cross-border movement of persons (aka ‘migration’). If a globalization-shock manifests itself in the former variant, populist protest tends to be articulated on the political left, if a globalization-shock manifests itself in the latter variant, populist protest is to be found rather on the political right. Against the background of Europe’s two recent crises – the financial and then Euro-crisis 2010 followed by the refugee-crisis 2015 – the article explains the striking north-south divide between right-wing and left-wing populism with the differing vulnerabilities of Europe’s northern and the southern political economies vis-à-vis these two different variants of globalization.


Giovanni de Ghantuz Cubbe:
Lega und Fünf-Sterne-Bewegung: Rechts- und Linkspopulismus? (S. 45–66)

As a consequence of the parliamentary election of 2018, two political powers have come to dominate in Italy: the Lega, mostly successful in northern Italy, and the Five-Star-Movement, with its stronghold in southern Italy. In analysing the election results, professional observers have come to the conclusion that Italy has become a divided country with a successful right-wing type of populism in the north and a thriving left-wing type of populism in the south. This interpretation leaves several aspects out of the equation however, in particular the programmatic ambivalence of the Five-Star-Movement, the reach of the Lega into southern Italy, and the similarities amongst the broader voting public. Is the common differentiation nevertheless suitable in order to describe the Lega and the Five-Star-Movement and to explain the current political constellation of the country?


Gilles Ivaldi:
Populist Voting in the 2019 European Elections (S. 67–96)

Der Beitrag analysiert die Wahlergebnisse der populistischen Parteien bei den Europawahlen 2019 und geht der Frage nach den Hauptfaktoren der populistischen Stimmabgabe nach. Zum einen zeigt sich, dass die populistischen Wähler nicht durchgängig dem Modell der „Globalisierungsverlierer“ entsprechen. Zweitens erscheint die populistische Wahl in ein breiteres Gefüge politisch-sozialer Konflikte und Identitäten eingebettet, das bei verschiedenen Trägern des Populismus stark variiert. Opposition gegen die europäische Integration, eine kritische Betrachtung der EU-Demokratie und eine geringe Unterstützung für demokratische Institutionen sind nichtsdestoweniger Gemeinsamkeiten der populistischen Wahlmotivation, unabhängig von der jeweiligen parteipolitischen Verortung.


Tom Mannewitz, Isabelle-Christine Panreck:
Systemtransformatives Potenzial im deutschen Parteiensystem: Die rechtspopulistische AfD (S. 97–118)

The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) continues to captivate Comparative Politics: Whereas the party’s right-wing populist nature is known to be widely undisputed, its potential to transform the democratic system remains highly contentious. In addition to analyses that focus on the populist and extremist character of the AfD, this contribution seeks to identify the antidemocratic potential of the party on the basis of Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s “key indicators of authoritarian behaviour”. The analysis is complemented by a critical examination of Levitsky and Ziblatt’s call for a “distancing” strategy.


Book Reviews

The Far Right Today
Cambridge (Polity Press) 2019 / Autor: Cas Mudde
Rezension: Manès Weisskircher (S. 121–123)

Für einen linken Populismus
Berlin (Suhrkamp) 2018 / Autor: Chantal Mouffe
Rezension: Thomas Schubert (S. 123–130)

Die große Illusion. Versailles 1919 und die Neuordnung der Welt
München (Siedler) 2018 / Autor: Eckart Conze
Rezension: Manfred Zeidler (S. 130–134)

Die Thüringer CDU in der SBZ/DDR. Blockpartei mit Eigeninteresse
Sankt Augustin/Berlin (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung) 2020 / Autor: Bertram Triebel
Rezension: Michael Thoß (S. 134–141)

Reviews