Le Média – A Populist Critique of Journalists and the Media by Journalists

ABSTRACT – This paper aims to question the critique of journalists and the media by Le Média, a French press body close to a populist party (La France insoumise), which means regularly opposing “the people” and “the elites” (De Cleen & Stavrakakis, 2017; De Cleen, 2019). Through a methodology inspired by the sociolinguistics of Gee (2014) and by the concept of “social goods”, the results bring to light: a metajournalistic critique based on the opposition between “the people” and “the elites”, a desire to delegitimize legacy media and the wish to make journalism a “social good” in the service of “the people”. RÉSUMÉ – Cette recherche vise à interroger la critique des journalistes et des médias par Le Média, un organe de presse français proche d’un parti populiste (La France insoumise), c’est-à-dire qui met régulièrement en avant l’opposition entre le “peuple” et les “élites” (De Cleen & Stavrakakis, 2017; De Cleen, 2019). Plus particulièrement, à travers une méthodologie inspirée de la sociolinguistique de Gee (2014) et notamment du concept de “social goods”, ce travail met au jour une critique métajournalistique, basée sur l’opposition entre le peuple et les élites, qui, tout en délégitimant les médias traditionnels, pose le journalisme en véritable “bien social” au service du peuple. RESUMO – Esta pesquisa busca questionar a crítica sobre os jornalistas e a mídia feitas por Le Média, um veículo da imprensa francesa próximo a um partido populista (La France insoumise), ou seja, que destaca regularmente a oposição entre o “povo” e as “elites” (De Cleen & Stavrakakis, 2017; De Cleen, 2019). De forma mais específica, por meio de uma metodologia inspirada na sociolinguística de Gee (2014) e, particularmente, no conceito de “social goods”, a pesquisa atualiza uma crítica metajornalística, baseada na oposição entre povo e elites, que, ao mesmo em que deslegitimam as mídias tradicionais, definem o jornalismo como um verdadeiro “bem social” a serviço do povo. RESUMEN – Este estudio tiene como objetivo interrogar la critica de los periodistas y de los medios por Le Média, una entidad de prensa francesa cercana al partido populista (La France insoumise), es decir que destaca a menudo la oposición entre el “pueblo” y las “elites” (De Cleen & Stavrakakis, 2017; De Cleen, 2019). Y más específicamente, a través de una metodología inspirada de la sociolingüística de Gee (2014) y del concepto de “social goods” que pone al dia una critica metaperiodista, basado en la oposición entre el pueblo y las élites que, al tiempo que deslegitima los medios tradicionales, plantea al periodismo como un verdadero “social good” al servicio del pueblo.

Are they different?A comparative study of European populist party members

Party membership is in decline across the established democracies, but populist parties appear to be reversing this trend. The expansion of populist parties’ membership base raises the question whether these parties are fulfilling their role as actors who serve as a “corrective to democracy” by mobilizing the socially and politically marginalized to become politically active. Using large comparative datasets from the European Social Survey and the World Values Survey, we examine the characteristics of populist party members in terms of their socio-demographic background and their political attitudes. We show that, with the exceptions of income levels and church attendance, the members of populist and non-populist parties look very much alike and hold similar political attitudes. These findings imply that mobilizing the politically disaffected remains a challenge, even for populist actors.

ANALISIS POSTER KAMPANYE LEGISLATIF PARTAI RASAMBLEMENT NATIONAL DI PERANCIS TAHUN 2017

Radical right populism is a phenomena that happens in almost every part of Europe, including France. In France, Rassamblement National Party (RN) which used to be called Front National Party (FN) steps up their campaign rhetoric using the anti-refugee agenda to mobilize their voters. Using the concept of Right Wing Populism and Critical Discourse Analysis Method, this paper seeks to analyse whether or not the campaign narrative of Rassamblement National Party meets the characters of Radical Right Populist party. This Paper uses a number of posters as a media to reveal their characteristics of Radical Right Populist Party. This paper argues that even if the use of poster is still one of the most dominant campaign media in France, the party’s characters as a radical right populist party are not being well portrayed in their campaign posters.

Right-Wing Populist Party Organisation Across Europe: The Survival of the Mass-Party? Conclusion to the Thematic Issue

This article provides a comparative conclusion to the thematic issue on the organisational characteristics of 12 right-wing populist parties (RWPPs) across Europe. We observe that many RWPPs—at least partially—adopt features of the mass party model. This finding illustrates the ideological aspects behind organisational choices: For populist parties, in particular, it is important to signal societal rootedness and “closeness to the people.” It furthermore challenges the idea that there is a one-way teleological movement towards more lean, electoral-professional kinds of party organisation. At the same time, the case studies clearly illustrate that RWPP leaders and executives continue to exercise great power over their members, who are essentially offered “participation without power.”

Right-Wing Populist Party Organisation Across Europe: The Survival of the Mass-Party? Introduction to the Thematic Issue

This thematic issue assesses the organisational forms of a broad range of right-wing populist parties (RWPPs) across Europe (12 in total). It interrogates received wisdom about the supposed leader-centeredness of such parties and investigates, in particular, the extent to which the mass party, as an organisational model, remains popular among RWPPs. This introduction presents the aims, research questions, and analytical framework of the issue and justifies its selection of cases. The resilience of the mass party model highlighted in many articles challenges the dominant trend that party organisation literature has identified: a unidirectional shift towards “catch-all,” “electoral-professional,” or “cartel” organisations.

When a Right-Wing Populist Party Inherits a Mass Party Organisation: The Case of EKRE

When the Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond (EKRE, Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took over the defunct but extensive party organisation of the Estonian People’s Union, it placed great emphasis on rebooting and extending the organisation and bringing in new activists. As a result, EKRE has grown into a full-fledged mass party type of organisation with all the characteristics associated to it. Furthermore, it has become the fastest-growing party in Estonia in terms of membership and been notably successful in electoral terms. This article focuses primarily on the question of how EKRE developed a mass party organisation with a strong, ideologically-devoted activist core and a remarkable presence on the ground. The article also demonstrates how the party offers a variety of opportunities for engagement to its members. In contrast to an archetypical right-wing populist party, the decision-making power is somewhat diffused within the party, though the party leader remains the public face and mouthpiece of the party. EKRE’s online engagement strategies have been among the most successful in recent Estonian politics and make the party stand out. The article demonstrates that parties can often revise as well as repurpose the features of the predecessor parties and even build defunct mainstream parties into mass parties with a firm ideological core.

Kemalism and Populism

This article examines the trajectory of populism/halkçilik, one of the least studied principles of Kemalism, from its origins in the ideas of Enlightenment to its practices in modern Turkey. Unlike its commonly perceived negative connotation that is often associated with irrational political objectives, populism is a manifestation of equality premise of Enlightenment. Populism gained popularity among the nineteenth-century American and Russian farmers as well as fin de siècle French intellectuals and politicians. Neither the Russian Narodnik movement nor the American Populist Party were as influential as the French solidarists who were backed by Vatican to carve a middle path between unrefined Capitalism and revolutionary Marxism. Inspired by its earlier counterparts in France and Russia, Kemalist principle of Populism aimed to end inherited socio-economic inequalities that had existed in the former Ottoman Empire. While modern Turkey curbed some inequalities, it has stumbled upon the same core obstacle, unequal distribution of resources. The never-ending human fight for equality will carry on whether it carries the banner of Kemalism or any other ideology.