Reinhard Heinisch
The more populism has evolved and the more we have learned about this supposedly elusive and contested concept, the more we recognise that the early insights we gained about the phenomenon have stood the test of time. Reinhard Heinisch argues that although these early lessons already pointed to the importance of credible change agency, ambiguity, and territoriality as crucial features for populism's success, their role is still not fully understood Read more
Sabine Volk
Germany’s largest far-right protest movement, PEGIDA, this month celebrates eight years of mobilisation and protest activity. Its survival, argues Sabine Volk, is a puzzle not explained by social movement theory. She explores an overlooked explanatory factor: PEGIDA's repetitive protest ritual Read more
Amit Singh
The hegemonic rise of Hindu nationalism and Hindu populism in India has trapped Indian Muslim minorities. The secular Indian state appears to be developing into a Hindu authoritarian state, and one where violence against Muslims is normalised, argues Amit Singh Read more
Farooq Yousaf
Farooq Yousaf and Bilquees Daud highlight the significant risk to women’s rights caused by the failure of the United States to include women in the so-called ‘peace deal’ signed with a male-dominated Taliban. As a consequence, the signs of regression immediately appeared in Afghanistan, and constitute a real threat. Read more
Hager Ali
A military coup on 25 October put an abrupt end to Sudan’s fragile democratic transition. Hager Ali argues that although the coup pre-empted a foreseeable power-transfer, the military also created a much bigger problem for itself. The same socio-political conditions that kept al-Bashir in power for decades now threaten the military’s capacity to govern Read more
Sabine Volk
Actors from across the political spectrum, including the populist far right, have voiced concerns about safeguarding democracy amid the coronacrisis, writes Sabine Volk. But their different understandings of democracy reveal Germany’s political polarisation, rather than its unity Read more
Emmanuelle Bertout
Religious freedom is deteriorating in France. Laws aimed at maintaining the confessional neutrality of the French state are turning into attacks on individuals’ right to religious freedom, writes Emmanuelle Bertout In February 2021, the French National Assembly adopted the highly controversial bill Consolidating the Principles of the Republic. The Senate followed suit in April. The […] Read more
Chiara Maritato
Turkey is upping its game in terms of exercising ‘pastoral power’ over its diaspora communities abroad, aiming to turn them into loyal and disciplined subjects who accept the government’s nationalist discourse, writes Chiara Maritato Read more
