Making sense of the madness

The twin resurgence of conspiracy theories and political populism in the west is not a coincidence, as both are fed by the same brand of fear and suspicion.

Popping the populism bubble

From the storming of the US Capitol on the January 6 2021, to the similar uprising in Brazil in 2023, far-right politicians are infringing on democratic ideals across the world. If we are serious about meeting the challenge they pose, we must stop treating them as legitimate, democratic actors and instead see them as the threat they really are.

Why populists are popular

Simplistic, divisive and bombastic demagogues like Donald Trump succeed because of those traits, rather than despite them.

Technopopulism – The new logic of democratic politics

Christopher Bickerton and Carlo Invernizzi Accetti describe, define and diagnose what they consider to be a new logic of democratic politics: the merging of populist and technocratic modes of governance that they label ‘technopopulism’.

COVID won’t kill populism

Populist politicians around the world have struggled to cope with the COVID crisis, due in part to their disdain for traditional institutions.

Populists in a pandemic

No amount of rhetorical smoke-and-mirrors can outweigh voters’ lived experiences of losing economic security or losing loved ones as a result of COVID-19 — as populist leaders the world over are now quickly learning.

Arvanitakis on American politics: Understanding the populist pandemic

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the way in which Donald Trump, like other populists, creates a clear divide between a faceless elite and ‘the people’, but it comes at a time when the people rely on those experts for their lives.

Arvanitakis on American politics – What characterises today’s populists?

It is easy to mock populist leaders and their supporters, but the pressure experienced by a dwindling middle class and the rising economic vulnerability that many people feel should not be so easily dismissed.

Australia’s populist moment has arrived

Populism is driven by the view that everyday people are suffering economic hardship as the corporate and political elites prosper. A sense of rising inequality and injustice is the foundation stone of populist rhetoric and these themes are set to surface at the next election.