Courtney Blackington
Courtney Blackington and Frances Cayton argue that populist politicians tend to dog-whistle conspiracy theories when speaking to general audiences, but explicitly endorse them when speaking to supporters. Thus, politicians strategically invoke conspiracy theories to avoid blowback, while still managing to rally their core supporter base Read more
Jacob Wentz
Jacob Wentz analyses populist rhetoric and communication strategies in the election campaigns of Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni. Both leaders adopt similar approaches, criticising traditional media, personalising politics, and using language that marginalises immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community. We should not, he argues, underestimate the power of their rhetoric. Read more
Jamie Gillies
Populist impulses are having a growing impact on the political landscape of several Western-style democracies. Jamie Gillies, Vincent Raynauld and Angela Wisniewski unpack the effects of populism in Canada, arguing that populist strategies grew as public faith in government messaging eroded during the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more
Monika Brusenbauch Meislová
Compared with the 2019 UK election, Brexit is almost invisible in the 2024 campaign. Monika Brusenbauch Meislová explains why Brexit has become the elephant in the room, and argues that the main political parties' deafening silence on the issue is damaging the UK’s interests Read more
Lone Sorensen
Lone Sorensen argues we should pay close attention to political communication in the study of populism. Particularly important is how populist ideology and performance interact in the creation of meaning, how populists adapt their communications to various media, and how they talk about political communication as a democratic deficit Read more
Courtney Blackington
Not all conspiracy theories that spread on social media remain popular over time. Courtney Blackington and Frances Cayton argue that conspiracy theories which map onto salient cleavages are more likely to persist and spread online. They find that elites who endorse conspiracy theories do not always attract engagement unless an event occurs that makes those conspiracy theories salient Read more
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