PSA Annual Conference

Call for Papers

The PSA Populism Specialist Group is pleased to invite scholars to submit paper abstracts for the PSA Annual International Conference 2025. We welcome critical and thought-provoking contributions on populism that challenge existing stereotypes. This year's conference in Birmingham, the historic home of Stuart Hall's Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, inspires us to particularly encourage submissions exploring the intersection of populist studies and cultural studies. We also invite examinations of other critical approaches to populism, as well as cross-disciplinary proposals with fresh theoretical, methodological, or empirical insights. 

For the 2025 conference, the submission process has been updated. Please submit a 300-word abstract by 18 October 2024 directly to the PSA through the submission portal. When submitting, please select the Populism Specialist Group to ensure your abstract is considered for our specialist stream. Notifications of acceptance are expected by 15 November 2024.

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.

For any questions or concerns about the submission process, please contact the PSA team at psa2cfp@psa.ac.uk.

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.

See also our parallel calls for joint panels! This year we have: 

• A panel in partnership with Journal Politics on Populism and Gender Minorities

• A panel in partnership with the Italian Politics Specialist Group on Elites and Right-Wing Populism

Monday, 3 April

9:30 – 11:00am | Panel 1: Anti-populism and populist hype

Chair: Panos Panayotu

• • Katy Brown (University of Bath) Brexit as a populist revolt? Challenging the prevailing narrative

  • Lili Turza (University of Tübingen) Social critique, collective political visions, and the continued success of the populist (far-)right in Hungary

  • Salomé Ietter (Queen Mary University of London) Capitalist (in)stability: Macron’s anti-populism, from the Gilets jaunes protests to the Covid-19 crisis

  • Andy Knott (University of Brighton) Non-populism, populism and crisis

1:30 – 3:00pm | Panel 2: Constructing the populist identity

Chair: Théo Aiolfi 

• • Juan Roch (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) Populism and fragmented class identities

  • Allan Dreyer Hansen and Anders Hovmuller (Roskilde University) Social Democratic Populism in Interwar Denmark

  • Abhishek Khajuria (Jawaharlal Nehru University) The National Rally and its mixed fortunes

  • Adam Dinsmore (University of York) Reasons to be cheerful? Competing left futures in England’s ‘Red Wall’

  • Felipe Rafael Linden (École des hautes études en sciences sociales) The ambiguities of ‘populism’ and ‘democracy’ in Latin American theories

3:30 – 5:00pm | Panel 3A: Populism and the far right

Chair: Théo Aiolfi 

• • Sophie Schmalenberger (Aarhus University) Far Right Populism and the Mobilization of Alternative East German Feelings

  • Archibald Gustin (Université de Liège) The conservative gender politics of the far right: A discursive theoretical analysis of the case of Vlaams Belang

  • George Newth (University of Bath) The people, elites and post-fascist discourse in the Italian far right's 2022 election campaigns

  • Alberto Escribiano Lopez (Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej w Lublinie) Vox: The non-populist Spanish Radical Right

3:30 – 5:00pm | Panel 3B: Contemporary Left Populism in the Americas

Chair: Thomás Zicman de Barros 

Joint panel with Left Radicalism Group

• • Mariano Féliz (Universidad Nacional de La Plata) ‘Into the Belly of the State’: Social Movements from Below, Progressive Governments and Austerity in Argentina

  • Ingrid Ríos-Rivera (Universidad de Chile) Rethinking Left Latin American Populism of the XXI Century

  • Samuele Mazzolini (Università Suor Orsola Benincasa) Left Populism and Institutions: Lessons from Ecuador on Laclau’s Antinomies

  • Nicholas Kiersey (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) Left Populism vs Left Anti-Politics, at ‘The End of the End of History’

  • Jimena Vazquez (Anglia Ruskin University), Sebastián Ronderos (Fundação Getulio Vargas) and Konstantinos Roussos (University of Essex) Left Populism with(out) the People: Lessons from the Mexican Political Landscape

Tuesday, 4 April

9:30 – 11:00am | Panel 4: Populism in Asia

Chair: George Newth 

• • Kanchan Panday (Jawaharlal Nehru University) Memory Of Ram Rajya: Populist Discourses in World’s Largest Democracy

  • Saltanat Kydyralieva (Center for Strategic Studies) Central Asian Model of Populism: Political Psychology, Elites and History

  • Hafsa Tahir (NUST Pakistan) Populism and Ethno-nationalism: Impacts on Human Rights in Pakistan

  • Nikhil Tiwari (Jawaharlal Nehru University) Sustaining Democracy in the Era of Growing Populism: A Case Study of Taiwan

  • Sumrin Kalia (University College London) ‘The Lesser Evil’ Techniques of Neutralizing Populism in Pakistan

1:30 – 3:00pm | Panel 5A: Populism, emotions, and performance

Chair: Thomás Zicman de Barros 

• • Théo Aiolfi (CY Cergy Paris Université) Performing the climate crisis and eco-populism

  • Freddie Larden (Queen Mary University of London) La Fanfichon: humour and identification amongst supporters of Jean-Luc Mélenchon

  • Beatriz Buarque (University of Manchester) A Lacanian reading of the multitude: when the ‘monster’ is racist and sexist

1:30 – 3:00pm | Panel 5B: Mediated Populism

Chair: George Newth 

Joint panel with Media and Politics Group

• • Luke Shuttleworth (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) and Aurelien Mondon (University of Bath) Documentaries on far-right parties and movements

  • Angelos Kissas (London School of Economics) Platform spectacle and populism in Youtube videos of Covid-19 protests

  • Daniele Albertazzi (University of Surrey), Marco Guglielmo (University of Birmingham), Nikko Hatakka (University of Turku) and Mattia Zulianello (University of Trieste) Allies or Foes? The Digital and the Mass Party

  • Elisabeth Moerking (University of Bristol) Cucks, Blue Pills and Reactionary Freedom Fighters: The Violent Humour of the Alt-Right

3:30 – 5:00pm | Panel 6A: Populist attitudes, corruption, and political preferences

Chair: Konstantinos Roussos 

• • Veronika Dostálová, Vlastimil Havlik and Petr Voda (Masaryk University) Economic hardship and democratic downswing as drivers of populism

  • Eduardo Ryô Tamaki (University of Erfurt), Bruno Castanho Silva (University of Cologne), Kirk A. Hawkins (Brigham Young University), Levente Littvay (Hungarian Academy of Science) and Mario Fuks (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais) Contextual Determinants of Populist Attitudes’ Activation across 34 Countries

  • Aleš Michal (Charles University) Anti-Corruption Rhetoric of Political Parties in Three Parliamentary Assemblies

  • Antonia Vaughan (University of Bath) The contradictions of populism

3:30 – 5:00pm | Panel 6B: Analysing Illiberal Discourses

Chair: Thomás Zicman de Barros 

Joint panel with Rhetoric, Discourse and Politics Group

• Tom Newton (University of Reading) ‘(The Cost of) a Place at the Table’: The Gay Right, Donald Trump and Internal Culture-Wars

• Aurelien Mondon and Fran Amery (University of Bath) Mainstreaming of Transphobia

• Jennifer Cowe (University of British Columbia) Overreach: Trudeau, the Freedom Convoy, Restorative Nostalgia and the Rhetorical Spectre of Populism

Wednesday, 5 April

9:30 – 11:00am | Panel 7: Contemporary Left Populism in Europe

Chair: Thomás Zicman de Barros 

Joint panel with Left Radicalism Group

• • Panos Panayotu (Loughborough University) Mapping Left Populism Beyond the Nation

  • Beatrice Carella (Scuola Normale Superiore) Left Populist Parties in Office: Syriza’s and Podemos’ Socioeconomic Policies and Their Implications for Populism and the Left

  • Nick Martin (University of Amsterdam), Piotr Marczyński (University of Amsterdam), Jouke Huijzer (Vrij Universtiteit Brussel) Organizing for Social Transformation: Evaluating Alternative Structures of Left-Populism Parties

  • Reid Kleinberg (University of Essex) A (Non)Revolution of Our Time: Post-National Coalition Building and the Left-Populist Nationalism of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s 2017 Presidential Campaign

  • Melika Mahmutović (University of Ljubljana) Transnational Left-Wing Populist Mobilizations: Exploring the case of the New Balkan Left

Monday, 29 March

9:30 – 11:00am | Populism and mobilisation – from the margins to the centre of power  

Chair: Marina Prentoulis (University of East Anglia)  

• • George Newth (University of Bath) Abeyance, Cycles of Activism and the Survival of Populist Repertoire  

  • Nikita Audichya (Jawaharlal Nehru University) Populism and Polarization in Urban India: Study of Resident Welfare Association in Delhi  

  • Ionut-Valentin Chiruta (University of Tartu) Challenging the Rule-of-Law in Romania: The Metamorphosis of Political Discourse Towards Populism  

  • Laura Chazel and Chloé Alexandre (Sciences Po Grenoble) From the Front de Gauche to La France Insoumise

11:15am – 12:45pm | Populism, culture and identity across countries  

Chair: Giorgos Venizelos (Scuola Normale Superiore)  

• • Panos Panayotu (Loughborough University) Lessons for Left-Wing Populism from the 2010s Austerity Wave in Europe  

  • Andy Knott (University of Brighton) We Need to Talk about Right-Wing Populism  

  • Marianna Griffini (King’s College London) ‘L’Italia e’ affetti da declino sotto vari punti di vista’: The Role of the Crisis in Populist Radical Right Parties’ Discourse  

  • Callum Tindall (University of Nottingham) Populism, Culture and Class: Articulation and Performance in Contemporary British Populism  

  • Thomas Siomos (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) Post Populism Politics: A Way Back to the Bio-Politics

1:30 – 3:00pm | Populism in Theory: Conceptual developments and challenges  

Chair: Andy Knott (University of Brighton)  

• • Maria Esperanza Casullo (National University of Río Negro) and Rodolfo Colalongo (Università degli studi di Salerno) Tough Men or Empty Suits? Populism, Masculinity and Technocracy in Social Media Performances of South American Presidents  

  • Erick Gonzalo Palomares Rodríguez (University of Copenhagen) The Utopian Dimension of Populist Demands  

  • Thomás Zicman de Barros (Sciences Po Paris) Demands and Desire in Pre-Populist Movements: A Study of the Yellow Vests in France  

  • Ertug Tombus (Humboldt University) and Sinem Adar (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin) Populism and Diversity: A Relational and Temporal Approach

3:30 – 5:00pm | Populism/anti-populism left and right  

Chair: Giorgos Katsambekis (Loughborough University)  

• • Grigoris Markou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) Populist and Anti-Populist Discourse on Minorities in Greece: The Cases of SYRIZA and ND  

  • Francesco Melito (Jagiellonian University in Krakow) Populism vs Demagogism: What If Anti-Populists Are the Real Demagogues?  

  • Salomé Ietter (Queen Mary University of London) Policing or Embracing Crisis? Brexit, Anti-Populism and Neoliberal Resilience  

  • Jonathan Dean (University of Leeds) Nostalgia for the End of History: Anti-Populism and the Post-2015 British Labour Party  

  • Stephan Ritscher (University of Aberdeen) Populism and the Return of the Political? Populism in Post-War Germany and the Rise of the Alternative für Deutschland

Tuesday, 30 March

9:30 – 11:00am | Populist Challenges to the Liberal Order

Joint panel with the Anti-Politics Specialist Group

Chair: Daniele Albertazzi (University of Birmingham)  

• • Beatrice Carella (Scuola Normale Superiore) Anti-Neoliberal Populism in Power and Social Policy Change: Evidence from Southern Europe  

  • Attila Antal (Eötvös Loránd University) Challenging the Legal Theory of Authoritarian Populism  

  • Thorsten Wojczewski (King’s College London) The Right-Wing Populist Challenge to the Liberal Global Order: Hegemony and Counter-Hegemony in International Relations  

  • Chan Man-Hei (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) Unprecedented Leaderless Populist Movement – A Case Study of Hong Kong Anti-ELAB Movement

11:15am – 12:45pm | Populist rhetoric and political influence

Joint panel with Rhetoric, Discourse and Politics Specialist Group

Chair: Daniele Albertazzi (University of Birmingham)  

• • Omran Shroufi (University of York) and Benjamin De Cleen (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) German New Right Discourse about Populism  

  • Antonis Galanopoulos (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) How Does a Left Populist Party Talk about Populism: The Case of SYRIZA  

  • Blendi Kajsiu (University of Antioquia) Beyond Populism: The Ideological Dimensions of Anti-Politics

Wednesday, 31 March

9:00 – 10:30am | Why do populists succeed? Government experiences, discursive strategies and party organisation

Joint panel with the Anti-Politics Specialist Group

Chair: Gergana Dimova (University of Winchester)  

• • Eliska Drapalova (University of Gothenburg) Welfare Benefactor, Paladin of Order or Technocratic Manager? The Effect of Populist Mayor on Public Policy and Investment in Czech Cities  

  • Katy Brown (University of Bath) Talking ‘With’ and ‘About’ the Far Right: How the Populist Hype Means We Do Both  

  • Daniele Albertazzi (University of Birmingham) and Stijn van Kessel (Queen Mary University of London) Why Do Populists Succeed?: The Survival of the Mass Party: Centralisation, Rootedness and Control Among Populist Radical Right Parties (PRRPs) in Europe  

  • Emilia Palonen (University of Helsinki) Why Do Populists Succeed?: EP Elections 2019 and Mainstreaming Populism in Whirl of Knowledge

Monday, 26 March

2:30 – 4:00pm | Oh, Jeremy Corbyn!: Left Wing Populism in Contemporary Britain? 

Chair: Andy Knott (University of Brighton) 

• • Jake Watts (University of Sussex), Tim Bale (Queen Mary University of London) Populism as an Intra-party Phenomenon: The British Labour Party Under Jeremy Corbyn 

  • Bice Maiguashca (University of Exeter), Jonathan Dean (University of Leeds) Corbynism, Populism and the Re-shaping of Left Politics in Contemporary Britain 

  • Marina Prentoulis (University of East Anglia), Lasse Thomassen (Queen Mary, University of London) The Contours of ‘Transversality’: Labour’s Discourse on Brexit 

  • Luke March (University of Edinburgh), Dan Keith (University of York) Corbynite Populism or a New ‘Socialism of the Heart’?

4:15 – 17:45pm | Populism and Passions: “Mad Masses” and “Strategic Masterminds” 

Chair: Sandra Resodihardjo (Radboud University) 

• • Paolo Cossarini (Loughborough University) The Passionate People: The Chimera of Political Subject? 

  • Antonis Galanopoulos (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) Anti-Populism and Political “Normality”: The Case of Greece 

  • Donatella Bonansinga (University of Birmingham) Emotionality in Right-Wing Populism’s Security Discourse and Its Impacts on Information Processing 

  • Emmy Eklundh (King’s College London) Affective Sovereignty: The Case of Podemos

Tuesday, 27 March

9:30 – 11:00am | Themes and Orientations in Populism Research I 

Chair: Emmy Eklundh (King’s College London) 

• • Andy Knott (University of Brighton) On Populism Left and Right 

  • Marcello Gisondi (Università della Svizzera Italiana Usi Lugano) The Birth of ‘Populismo’: A Contextualist Look on the First Political Uses of Populism in the Italian and Spanish Languages 

  • Aurelien Mondon (University of Bath), Aaron Winter (University of East London) Whiteness, Populism and the Racialisation of the Working-class in the UK and the US 

  • Grigoris Markou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) Populism and Anti-populism in the Semi-periphery: Lessons from Greece and Argentina

1:30 – 3:00pm | Themes and Orientations in Populism Research II 

Chair: Emmy Eklundh (King’s College London) 

• • Michail Theodosiadis (Goldsmiths, University of London) Populism, Progress and Nostalgia 

  • Benjamin De Cleen (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Aurelien Mondon (University of Bath), Jason Glynos (University of Essex), Péter Csigó (Budapest University of Technology) Interrogating Discourses About Populism: Mimesis, Ideology, Bubble and Hype 

  • Michaelangelo Anastasiou (University of Victoria, Canada) Of Nation and Populace: Why Naming the Metaphor Matters to the Study of Politics 

  • Bice Maiguashca (University of Exeter), Jonathan Dean (University of Leeds) Did Somebody Say Populism? The Case for a Conceptual Reorientation

3:30 – 5:00pm | Themes and Orientations in Populism Research III 

Chair: Andy Knott (University of Brighton) 

• • Patricia Rodi (Loughborough University) Populist Political Communication Going Mainstream? The Occurrence and Usage of Populist Political Communication by the Centre-left Mainstream Parties in the UK and Sweden 

  • Lazaros Karavasilis (Loughborough University) From Historiography to Anarcho-Populism: The Theoretical Evolution of Populism 

  • Thomas Siomos (Aristotle University Thessaloniki) From Tele-populism to Online-ism: How the Left Wing Populist Discourses Using Traditional and New Media 

  • Manuel Anselmi, Some Theoretical Elements for the Realization of a Model of Social and Comparative Analysis of Populism

Wednesday, 28 March

9:30 – 11:00am | The Rise of Populism in Europe: A Challenge to Economic Orthodoxy? 

Chair: Emmy Eklundh (King’s College London) 

Joint panel with the British and Comparative Political Economy Specialist Group 

• • Marta Lorimer (London School of Economics) Europe in Far-Right Ideology 

  • Daniel Smith (University of Cambridge), Patrick Smith (Fidelity International) Structural Changes in Western Economies (1980–2010) and the Rise of Populism 

  • Alen Toplišek (SOAS University of London) Economic Implications of Populism in Europe: A New Variety of Capitalism on the Horizon? 

  • Matteo Cavallaro (IEP Tolosa) Do Radical Right Parties Influence the Economy? An Empirical Assessment Relying on Opportunistic and Partisan Models