Populism in East and West – The Political Economies of Protest in Europe

Abstract

Populism is considered one of the causes of the crisis of democracy, but populism itself can also be understood as a political reaction to crisis-ridden social upheavals. Whether it be the global financial crisis of 2008 onwards, the migration crisis of 2015 onwards, or as a result of the more insidious crisis of representation caused by a renewed “structural change in the public sphere” – that is, the radical media revolution we are currently experiencing. Populist protest in the transition countries of Eastern/Central Europe is primarily a reaction to the enormous social and economic upheavals after 1989/90. This article examines the political form that this populist protest has taken in the “East” as opposed to the “West.”