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How to perform crisis: a model for understanding the key role of crisis in contemporary populism
Moffitt, Ben
Moffitt, Ben
Author
Abstract
A focus on crisis is a mainstay of the literature on contemporary populism. However, the links between populism and crisis remain under-theorized and undeveloped. This article puts forward anovel perspective for understanding this relationship, arguing that crisis does not just trigger populism, but that populism also attempts to act as a trigger for crisis. This is because crises are always mediated and 'performed'. The article presents a six-step model of how populist actors 'perform' crisis, drawing on empirical examples from Europe, Latin America, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. It explains how the performance of crisis allows populist actors to pit 'the people' against a dangerous other, radically simplify the terrain of political debate and advocate strong leadership. It ultimately suggests that we should move from thinking of crisis as something purely external to populism, towards thinking about the performance of crisis as an internal core feature of populism
Keywords
Benjamin Moffitt
Date
2015
Type
Journal article
Journal
Government and Opposition: an international journal of comparative politics
Book
Volume
50
Issue
2
Page Range
189-217
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Arts and Humanities
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
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Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Open access
License
File Access
Open