Articles by Zea Szebeni

November 13, 2025

🔮 Banana populism: when politics gets absurd (and why it works)

Zea Szebeni
Why did Viktor Orbán bring pickles to Parliament? What made Kamala Harris lean into 'brat summer'? And why do politicians flood social media with pets, food, and everyday objects? Ilana Hartikainen and Zea Szebeni argue these aren't random quirks: they're examples of 'banana populism', where politicians build powerful emotional connections with voters through whimsical, mundane imagery
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February 21, 2024

🔮 Populism research demands more nuance: enter tribalism

Zea Szebeni
Tribalism has emerged as a key term in political discussions — often used, but not clearly defined. Ilana Hartikainen and Zea Szebeni propose reconceptualising ‘tribalism’ to differentiate forms of political mobilisation. Tribalism, they argue, forms exclusive groups around shared values — and it’s gone global
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photograph of Zea Szebeni
Zea Szebeni
Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki

Zea studies disinformation and alternative epistemologies, with a particular interest in visual politics.

Her recent work explores how groups claim ownership over national narratives and cultural knowledge, examining who gets to tell a country's story.

'(The story of) This country is ours!' The territorial and epistemic dimensions of collective psychological ownership among the national majority and immigrants

@zeaszebeni.bsky.social

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Advancing Political Science
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