Consociationalism is a power-sharing arrangement often recommended to divided societies to avert inter-group conflict and induce stability. The consociational theory has been described by Arend Lijphart following the observation of the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland. Based on the example …

Right-wing discourses and issues of belonging and collective identity in Europe’s political and public spheres are often analysed in terms of Islamophobia, racism and populism. While acknowledging the value of these concepts, Kešić and Duyvendak argue that these discourses can be better understood through …

We don 't accept a doctor to be stupid. Populism is a form of stupidity, and stupidity is the biggest plague of contemporary democracy. We could have every populist statement analyzed by a jury of both professionals and laymen. It is an expensive means, but if we leave complex issues such as European …

This chapter focuses on the construction of pueblo ‘people’ and patria ‘homeland’ in the Spanish discourse of Podemos and the party’s relation to la gente ‘the people’ between June 2016 and its second political conference, Vistalegre II (February 2017). The discursive analysis focuses on figures of speech, …

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the policy changes that Italy and the European Union (EU) experienced due to the EU migrant crisis. The European country that, besides Greece and Spain, has been most affected by problems of irregular migrant arrivals by the Mediterranean Sea, is Italy. The …

Populist parties have received a great amount of attention in the last decade. Scholars agree on the fact that populism addresses issues that are relevant for the majority. However, the established political elites do not discuss and address these issues clearly. Therefore, populist parties stir up …

Post-structuralist theory has frequently been discarded because of its theoretical character, extremely pluralist approach and lack of problem-solving attitude (Edkins, 1999 ; Campbell, 2013 ; Harcourt, 2007). Indeed, the main claim of post-structuralism is that reality is a socially-constructed artefact which …

From the fast-food industry to the sharing economy, precarious work has become the norm in contemporary capitalism, like the anti-globalization movement predicted it would. This book describes how the precariat came into being under neoliberalism and how it has radicalized in response to crisis and austerity. …

The dissertation at hand is embedded in the context of the 2014 European elections that have brought to light a strong Eurosceptic sentiment throughout Europe. It picks up on the intention to create a new Eurosceptic group in the European Parliament as brought forward by right-wing populists Geert Wilders …

Audience studies is not the vibrant field it was in its 1980s and early 1990s heyday. Cultural studies today has a more balanced interest in production, audiences and texts. A renewed focus in audience studies on everyday meaning production, identity and relations of power could benefit from recent developments. …