Rethinking populism and its threats and possibilities

Ponowne zastanowienie się nad populizmem – jego wyzwaniami i możliwościami

Bibliographic Data

ID11617460
AuthorsR Hogg (0000-0001-7727-5596, Queensland University of Technology, corresponding author)
Year2023
IssueXLIV/1
Pages15-38
Publication date2023-02-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchiwum Kryminologii (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2719-4280 • E-ISSN: 0066-6890
PublisherPolish Scientific Publishers PWN (PUBLISHER • PL)
DOI10.7420/ak2021.22
OpenAlexW3217266728
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited41

Resurgent populism – with crime as a core theme - is depicted as a dangerous perversion of liberal democracy. But by avoiding a definition of populism, critics tend to simply conflate populism with contemporary right-wing authoritarianism. Academic analysis, including criminological, is not free of such tendencies. After a brief consideration of criminology’s engagement with penal populism and the recent spread of a more far-reaching authoritarian political populism, the article argues for the need to more carefully conceptualise populism. Theoretical clarity is needed for assessing the character of contemporary populism; for grasping its drivers in, for example, neo-liberal globalization and what Crouch calls “post democracy”; and for discerning its possible future trajectories, progressive as well as regressive. It is also argued that simple denunciations of populism often reflect a complacent liberal mentality that contributes to political disaffection fuelling populist movements, and overlooks legitimate grievances, including the (often criminal) failings of liberal institutions. Rather than being a political aberration, populism, it is argued, should be seen as a “normal” dimension of democratic politics with implications for criminal policy (as well as politics at large)

Authoritarianism · Criminology · Democracy · Liberal democracy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Sociology · Crime, Deviance, and Social Control · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements