It really shouldn't have to be said anymore but "populism" is not the threat, it's a diversion away from the threat and crucially from the systemic nature of the issue we are facing In doing so, it also legitimises the far right

It's not only Trump: The Home Office under Starmer and Cooper is tearing families apart just like ICE. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

This was a pleasure to be involved with last year. Sign up for this free(!), hybrid summer school on critical approaches to the study of reactionary politics. Deadlines for applications 15th July.

Nope! This week has been a full-throated embrace by Starmer of the racism that has been immanent in mainstream discourse on migration for decades. 'Populism' has precisely nothing to do with it.

"Instead of popular sovereignty, for anti-populism, democratic desires should be repressed for the common good: the return of depoliticised enjoyment for all."

Our statement on the UK Supreme Court's ruling on the Equality Act. We stand in solidarity with trans and non-binary people and believe that it is the responsibility of researchers to hold our institutions to account to defend trans equality and dignity. reacpol.net/supreme-cour...

Our final #PSA25 panel—held in partnership with Italian Politics SG—wraps up with a sharp discussion on populism and economic elites. Chaired by Vladimir Borden, with papers by Adam Dinsmore, @lauramontecchio.bsky.social, @alexyates2000.bsky.social, Reid Kleinberg & Lorenzo Ghiduci.

Check out my interview with @reacpolrn.bsky.social on my paper (co-authored w/ @aurelmondon.bsky.social) which looks at how anti-populist discourses construct their own versions of 'the people' and 'the elite' for post-democratic ends.

This framing illustrates well how the Guardian editorial line rests on a mix of populist hype and anti-populism All ills are blamed on 'the people' which allows the Guardian and many of their readers to avoid reflecting on their own power and responsibility in the current political moment

There is no choice but to take decisive and radical action if we are to turn the tide against the dystopian reactionary tech oligarchy @jfarkas.bsky.social and I in the @bylinetimes.bsky.social bylinetimes.com/2025/01/26/t...

📢New blog entry: What Should ‘Pluralism’ Mean in Populism Studies? Written by Alex Yates (alexyates2000.bsky.social). Based on Yate's recent article in journalpolitics.bsky.social entitled 'Pluralising pluralism in the study of populism'. Link below👇 www.psapopulism.org/blog/researc...

Although anti-populism has a place for ‘the people’, it ultimately aims at the restoration of responsible elite rule: government for the people, rather than of or by them @alexyates2000.bsky.social and I in @bjpir.bsky.social

📝 Don't miss this new BJPIR article! '‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social 🔓 Find the full article in #OpenAccess here:

📣 New blog for @populismpsa.bsky.social 📣 'What Should Pluralism Mean in Populism Studies?' In this blog, I encourage populism scholars to think more critically about pluralism and its relationship with left-wing populism. Check it out below! www.psapopulism.org/blog/researc...

📝 New BJPIR article out now! '‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social 🔓 Find the full article in #OpenAccess here:

"Anti-populism ultimately aims at the restoration of responsible elite rule: government for the people, rather than of or by them" @alexyates2000.bsky.social and I look at the impact of anti-populism on democracy journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

If you want to understand what's behind the careless use of 'populism' in mainstream media and punditry, the article linked below is for you! In it, @alexyates2000.bsky.social and I look at what's behind anti-populism and the threat it poses to democracy journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

📣 New open access article w/ @aurelmondon.bsky.social in @bjpir.bsky.social 📣 We discuss how anti-populist discourse constructs a circumscribed version of 'the people', whose only proper role is to support 'good' and 'responsible' liberal elites. Check it out below!

The Telegraph, Mail, and Express exist to shape elite opinion by claiming to speak for "the people." Starmer's "small boats week" shows how effective this right-wing media apparatus remains.

📣 New open access publication in @politicsjournal.bsky.social 📣 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... We about pluralism a lot in populism studies as populism’s supposed opposite, but what does pluralism actually mean? More importantly, perhaps, what do we want it to mean? 🧵

Yesterday, Starmer called 'populism' the politics of 'easy answers', yet said it fed off 'real concerns' people have regarding migration. Check out my piece for @jacobinmag.bsky.social on how his anti-populism marginalises the left whilst mainstreaming the far right. jacobin.com/2024/10/keir...

Critical populism studies are flourishing, and we're curating a Bluesky starter pack featuring brilliant young minds and seasoned experts shaping the field! Dive into their groundbreaking work here 👇 go.bsky.app/NEheVTj

Unfortunately, this article I co-authored with @aurelmondon.bsky.social has only become more salient since the re-election of Donald Trump to the US presidency, and the euphemising of him as a 'populist' by media elites.

Reading yet another good article misusing the term 'populism' and thus legitimising the very ideas the author seeks to counter, I thought I'd repost the article co-authored with @alexyates2000.bsky.social 1/ theconversation.com/the-word-pop...

Calling the far right “populist” keeps us in our inertia. To activate the appropriate sense of urgency needed to defeat these trends, we must be honest about the kind of politics that we see in front of us @alexyates2000.bsky.social and I on populist hype theconversation.com/the-word-pop...