From Populism to Fascism? On Our Present‐Time Political Categories

Datos Bibliográficos

ID13144340
AutoresFederico Tarragoni (0000-0003-4268-6234, Institut Universitaire de France, autor de correspondencia)
Año2026
Volumen39
Número2
Páginas240-248
Fecha de publicación2026-03-30
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociology Lens (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2832-5796 • E-ISSN: 2832-580X
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/johs.70044
OpenAlexW7140398183
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas28

With the global rise of far‐right governments, two categories are available to describe this aspect of our current times: populism and fascism. This raises a twofold question: analytically, which is the most accurate to describe these authoritarian governments? Performatively, which is the most effective in encouraging citizens to fight against them? This paper assesses their respective advantages and disadvantages, emphasizing their conceptual and historical relevance. It highlights the aporias of “populism” and concludes that “fascism” is more accurate, but only if the comparison with classic fascism is kept in mind. Following this line, it proposes a political definition of fascism as a way of forming organic, exclusionary and embodied communities, through specific propaganda that breaks with political conventions—what can be thought, said and done in the political field

Democracy · Government (linguistics · Politics · Populism · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Political theory and Gramsci · Populism, Right-Wing Movements