Since the 1980s the rise of so-called ‘populist parties’ has given rise to thousands of books, articles, columns and editorials. This article aims to make a threefold contribution to the current debate on populism in liberal democracies. First, a clear and new definition of populism is presented. Second, the normal-pathology thesis is rejected; instead it is argued that today populist discourse has become mainstream in the politics of western democracies. Indeed, one can even speak of a populist Zeitgeist. Third, it is argued that the explanations of and reactions to the current populist Zeitgeist are seriously flawed and might actually strengthen rather than weaken it.

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The Populist Zeitgeist

Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge. Edited by I. Lakatos and A. Musgrave. Pp. viii, 282. £3·50, paperback £1. 1970. (Cambridge University Press.)

This paper takes the regulation of identity as a focus for examining organizational control. It considers how employees are enjoined to develop self-images and work orientations that are deemed congruent with managerially defined objectives. This focus on identity extends and deepens themes developed within other analyses of normative control. Empirical materials are deployed to illustrate how managerial intervention operates, more or less intentionally and in/effectively, to influence employees' self-constructions in terms of coherence, distinctiveness and commitment. The processual nature of such control is emphasized, arguing that it exists in tension with other intra. and extra-organizational claims upon employees' sense of identity in a way that can open a space for forms of micro-emancipation. (Less)

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1467-6486.00305

Identity regulation as organizational control: Producing the appropriate individual

https://www.bond.org.uk/sites/default/files/resource-documents/using_icts_to_create_a_culture_of_transparency.pdf

Using ICTs to create a culture of transparency: E-government and social media as openness and anti-corruption tools for societies

Introduction Part I. Theory of Collective Action: 1. The construction of collective action 2. Conflict and change 3. Action and meaning 4. The process of collective identity Part II. Contemporary Collective Action: 5. conflicts of culture 6. Invention of the present 7. The time of difference 8. Roots for today and for tomorrow 9. A search for ethics 10. Information, power, domination Part III. The Field of Collective Action: 11. A society without a centre 12. The political system 13. The state and the distribution of social resources 14. Modernization, crisis, and conflict: the case of Italy Part IV. Acting Collectively: 15. Mobilization and political participation 16. The organization of movements 17. Leadership in social movements 18. Collective action and discourse 19. Forms of action 20. Research on collective action.

Challenging Codes: Collective Action in the Information Age@@@The Playing Self: Person and Meaning in the Planetary Society

Preface. 1. Conceptualizing the Global Condition. 2. Ways of Thinking about the World. 3. Treating the World as a Social System. 4. The World Economy. 5. States and the Global System. 6. Culture and the Global System. 7. Conflicts and Issues in the Global System. 8. The World in a State of Chaos?. 9. Conclusion. References. Index.

'the global system: economics, politics and culture'

From the Publisher:
"Exploring the theme of the putative transformation of political modernity under the impact of 'new' media, this book adopts a questioning approach to the ways in which cultural and technological factors are affecting the temper of political life, and reflects the variety of normative thinking about and empirical research on the changing character of politics in mediatized cultures." "New Media and Politics examines: the extent to which commercial populism now dominates electoral and other political discourses; the ways in which the functions of leadership, government and political parties are modified by different forms of both old and new media; the democratic or undemocratic import of such changes; and the ways in which the dominant territorial paradigm of politics is challenged by the space and time devouring capacities of electronic media."--BOOK JACKET.

New Media and Politics

Introduction Barrie Axford and Gary Browning Part 1. People and Politics 1. The Individual and Politics Barrie Axford 2. Political Socialisation: how people learn about politics Ben Rosamond 3. Political Culture Ben Rosamond 4. Political Participation Barrie Axford and Ben Rosamond 5. Democracy and Democratization Richard Huggins Part 2: Politics and Ideas 6. Concepts and Issues Gary K. Browning 7. Political Thought Gary K. Browning 8. Political Ideologies Gary K. Browning Part 3: The Structures and Processes of Governance 9. Local Governance: politics below the nation-state Alan Grant 10. National Governance: key institutions and processes Richard Huggins 11. Parties, Interest Groups and Public Opinion John Turner 12. Political Communications and the Media John Turner 13. The Policy Process John Turner Part 4: Politics Beyond the Territorial State 14. The Nation-state and Nationalism Gary K. Browning and Ben Rosamond 15. Politics and Governance above the Territorial State Ben Rosamond 16: The Processes of Globalization Barrie Axford

/pdf/politics-an-introduction-274kl7es5o.pdf

Politics: An Introduction

This article examines the role played by social media in the popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). When discussing their role, it is important to note the wider research context on social media and political participation and to be aware of any ideological and normative interventions. A number of key questions are asked about the role played by social media in the uprisings. First is the importance of context when assessing the role and impact of social media with global reach. Second is the extent to which ‘old’ media in the guise of print and broadcast journalism have been displaced or downgraded as forums for public talk. Third is the variable use and significance of different information and communication technologies and formats. The fourth issue concerns the demeanor of activists and audience, while the fifth focuses on the effects of social media on the conduct of the uprisings and, insofar as this can be ascertained, on their outcomes. Este articulo examina el papel que...

Talk About a Revolution: Social Media and the MENA Uprisings

This article explores the spatial dimension of polity making in Europe by reference to seemingly contradictory topologies of European space and how they produce a complex dialectic of Europe-making practices. These practices are conveniently summarized as the tension between borders and networks. More generally, the aim will be to contribute to an understanding of the ways in which different spatial contexts impact on social life and vice versa. It will show that no constructed spatiality should be read as monolithic or exclusive. Rather, their dialectic shows the ways in which domains of collective existence influence and constitute each other. First, the topologies of borders and networks are examined in order to locate the discussion conceptually. Thereafter, orders, borders and networks are shown to exhibit a mutually constitutive dynamic. Some networks are embedded in territories while others transcend them. At the same time, it will be shown that territories are embedded in networks. The article distinguishes between types of network relationships to exemplify a range of Europe-making practices more-or-less tied to territoriality. A variety of illustrative material is used, including civic networking, cross-border governance in Europe, the European Neighbourhood Policy and the cartographies of trans-national activism. The article concludes by reiterating the case for the spatial turn in understanding integrative tendencies in Europe and offers some brief reflections on a research agenda.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fpalgrave.cep.6110079.pdf

Barrie Axford

Papers

'the global system: economics, politics and culture'

New Media and Politics

Politics: An Introduction

Talk About a Revolution: Social Media and the MENA Uprisings

The Dialectic of Borders and Networks in Europe: Reviewing ‘Topological Presuppositions’