Last year marked the 10-year anniversary of the emergence of the proto-populist movements of the squares. As the populist moment of the early 2010s fades away, and with the pandemic signalling the end of one era and the beginning of another, we are called to reflect upon the trajectory of populism during the past decade: What did populism look like then, and what does it look like now? What are the consequences of institutionalisation? Where are populist politics heading to? The 5th issue of Populism is dedicated to this theme and, through the various contributions and interventions that it hosts, seeks to reflect upon these questions.
On page 3 the reader can find an overview of our past events. These include the conference Populism, Protest, and New Forms of Political Organisation: Ten Years after the Movements of the Squares that we jointly organised with DVPW Populism Group Initiative in September 2021 in Berlin, and our participation in the Annual International Conference of the PSA in York in April 2022. On page 2, you will find our group’s news and announcements including a Call for Papers for our 6th annual workshop entitled Populist Politics in the Post-Pandemic Landscape that will be held in Brighton in September 2022. This issue hosts two interviews with our
keynote speakers in the Berlin conference, Cristina Flesher Fominaya and Paolo, who reflect on the transformations of populist politics over the last decade, their victories and setbacks but also challenges in the post-pandemic era. You will find these interviews on page 6.
This issue hosts six reviews of books that have been published in late 2021 and make significant contributions in the continuously growing literature of populism. Francesco Melito reviews Kim’s Discourse, Hegemony, and Populism in the Visegrád Four, Adrià Porta Caballé reviews Biglieri and Cadahia’s Seven Essays on Populism, Sophia Hatzisavvidou reviews Prentoulis’ Left Populism in Europe: Lessons from Jeremy Corbyn to Podemos, Anton Jäger reviews Gerbaudo’s The Great Recoil: Politics after Populism and Pandemic, Juan Pablo Ferrero reviews Paodan’s Anti-Neoliberal Populisms in Comparative Perspective: A Latinoamericanisation of Southern Europe? and Lazaros Karavassilis reviews Carlos de la Torre and Treethep Srisa-Nga’s Global Populisms.
On page 22 you will find our publications alert with suggested books and articles published between the last issue and this one. Finally, I would like to thank Andy Knott and Thomás Zicman de Barros for helping me out with the last stages of this issue.
The Editor,
Giorgos Venizelos
PSA Populism Specialist Group 