Populist Manifesto

Emmy Eklundh is a Lecturer in Politics at Cardiff University, UK. Andy Knott is a Lecturer in Politics and Philosophy at the University of Brighton, UK.

• IntroductionEmmy Eklundh and Andy KnottChapter 1: Populism: The Politics of a DefinitionAndy KnottChapter 2: Populism and MythMaría Esperanza CasulloChapter 3: Populism and the Politics of ControlPaolo GerbaudoChapter 4: Ten Theses on PopulismEmilia PalonenChapter 5: Why Populists aren’t Mad Emmy EklundhChapter 6: Populism, Democracy and the Transnational People: In Defence of Democratic PopulismMark DevenneyChapter 7: Left Populism as a Political ProjectMarina PrentoulisChapter 8: A Manifesto and Populism?Andy Knott

In The Populist Manifesto, seven scholars—Eklundh (politics, Cardiff Univ., UK) and Knott (politics and philosophy, Univ. of Brighton, UK) among them—argue that populism can be defined by its content and form. Most contemporary debate on populism centers on its current content, namely, the right-wing nationalist variant that is attached to an ethnonationalist exclusionary and nostalgic worldview. This notion engenders negative and hostile reactions from the press and academia. But populism can also be regarded as a style of politics. This style, or form, is based on engaging people through passion and emotions, and it stands in contrast to the deliberate, rational approach of mainstream politics. The authors urge progressive forces to adopt a more populist approach to politics, especially in order to solve urgent challenges related to falling wages, capital concentration, deregulation, climate change, and biological extinction. Rejecting the content of right-wing populism, adherents of this version of populism believe that a new approach to politics, one based on engaging the people, will provide a compelling alternative to neoliberal individualism, nationalism, and austerity. This is a thought-provoking book that seeks to deepen the debate on populism by encouraging contemplation of a new brand of politics. Summing Up: Highly recommended, Lower- and upper-division undergraduates and general readers.