Call for Papers

Populists have an ambivalent attitude towards gender minorities. Certain expressions of populism take a conservative and exclusionary stance, seeing gender minorities as a threat to traditional values and social cohesion. They often oppose LGBTQIAP+ rights as a reaction to worldwide cultural transformations, or to appeal to religious voters. However, not all populism can be painted with the same brush. Other populist movements aim to be an emancipatory force, seeking to integrate the excluded social groups and thus expand the boundaries of democracy. They favour the existence of gender minorities as an alternative to the status quo and as a way of challenging neoliberal discourses. They also define the “people” in terms of community belonging rather than ethnicity or sexuality. Nonetheless, there are concerns that this inclusionary populist logic may neglect particularities and intersectionality in the name of a general "people”.

This panel seeks to explore these different dimensions of populism and address many unanswered questions about the relationship between populists and gender minorities. For example, how do gender minorities emerge as subjects in the populist discourses? What forms do discourses against or in favour of LGBTQIAP+ rights take? What drives the populist discourses? What are their consequences? How are gender minorities portrayed concerning the projected identity of the “people”? Do populists propose policies that support or oppose gender minorities?

The panel seeks to gather papers that address but are not limited to any of the above questions. It is open to different types of approaches and contributions (e.g. theoretical, methodological, empirical), methods of analysis and types of analyses (case studies, comparative). The best papers in the panel will have the possibility to submit for publication in Politics (IF=2.1).

Those who are interested in presenting a paper in this panel should submit a title and abstract of 250 words (accompanied by the authors’ affiliation) to the panel chair at sergiu.gherghina@glasgow.ac.uk until 30 September 2024. The results of the panel selection process will be communicated to the presenters three days after the submission deadline.

We highly encourage submissions from junior researchers, scholars from the Global South, women, non-binary persons, non-white persons, persons with disabilities, and members of minority groups.

This will be a fully in-person conference. The PSA aims to host around 700+ attendees, creating a vibrant experience.

Information on the conference registration fees will be available in due course in the PSA website. We remember that all participants must abide by the PSA code of conduct.