CALL FOR PAPERS
73rd Political Studies Association Annual Conference
Liverpool – 3rd-5th April 2023
Populism Specialist Group
The Populism Specialist Group is requesting paper and panel proposals for the 73rd annual conference of the Political Studies Association (PSA) in Liverpool from 3rd-5th April 2023.
The theme of this year’s annual conference, Political Futures, reflects, in part, how populism continues to provide an important theoretical lens through which to study contemporary politics and the future of democracy. Indeed, 2022, has provided several examples of political phenomena which have, to varying extents, articulated an antagonism between ‘people’ and ‘elites’. On the far right, actors such as Viktor Orban (Hungary) and Bongbong Marcos (Philippines) have consolidated or gained power. Meanwhile, in Latin America a ‘new left’ has emerged, including Gabriel Borić (Chile), Pedro Castillo (Peru) and Gustavo Petro (Colombia).
Amongst the questions we want to raise during this annual conference are: does populism represent a future for progressive, or reactionary politics, or both/either? Is populism the only way to reintroduce agonism and emotions in a post-political world? What are the strengths and the limitations of populist politics? What role can populist politics play in facing the increasingly visible and violent climate crisis?
The PSA Populism SG invites proposals which take a critical approach to the study of populism and are of cross-disciplinary, theoretical, methodological and empirical nature. We encourage papers related, but by no means restricted, to exploring the links between populism and:
- The radical left (including class-based, racial, feminist and environmental struggles)
- The far right
- Emotions and affective politics
- Alternative forms of democracy and political participation
- Anti-populism & the populist hype
- Social movements & the resurgence of trade unionism
- Political economy, class, and inequality
As a specialist group we are committed to encouraging a greater diversity of opinions and perspectives. Because of this, we would like to particularly encourage submissions from scholars coming from under-represented backgrounds, including BME, women, queer, international, as well as early career scholars and PhD students.
Please send a 250 word abstract in PDF form, including your paper title, name, email and affiliation to George Newth (psa.populism@gmail.com) by the 10th of September 2022. Please indicate ‘PSA Populism’ in the subject line.
Download this document in PDF here.
PSA Populism Specialist Group 