A populist desecuritisation? Mélenchon, left-wing populism, and the fight against Islamophobia in France
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6423555 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ugo Gaudino (0000-0002-4753-0063, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 211-230 |
| Publication date | 2024-09-23 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Journal of International Security (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2057-5637 • E-ISSN: 2057-5645 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/eis.2024.24 |
| OpenAlex | W4402750574 |
| Language | FR |
| Citations received | 3 |
While there is literature on ‘populist securitisation’ and on the ‘securitisation of Islam’, the possibility that some populists may desecuritise Islam is not sufficiently explored. Left-wing populist parties have demonstrated solidarity towards Muslim minorities in Europe through a discourse based on inclusionary rhetoric and deconstruction of the securitising narratives promoted by mainstream and populist right-wing parties. However, their attitude towards Islam can be ambiguous. This paper argues that left-wing populists tend to desecuritise Islam. However, desecuritisation happens in ways that do not always accommodate Muslims’ religious freedoms. This happens because the driver of the left-wing populist desecuritisation of Islam lies in the left-wing thick ideology surrounding populism and not in the populist thin core. I illustrate this argument through the case study of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing populist party La France Insoumise. Through a discourse analysis of texts from 2009 to 2022, I show that Mélenchon has predominantly desecuritised Islam. While his desecuritisation is populist, it has not been truly emancipatory for Muslims. Although a more committed fight against Islamophobia has emerged since 2019, Mélenchon’s ideological attachment to laïcité hinders a full rearticulation of French political community based on genuine recognition of Muslims’ religious freedoms
Islamophobia · Left-wing politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Right wing · Sociology · Comics and Graphic Narratives · Law
| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |