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Anti-populist discourse in European politics and media

Project description

A closer look at anti-populism

The rise of European populism is one of the most important political developments of the 21st century. While populism is widely blamed for the polarisation of political life and the decline of trust towards institutions, there is another aspect that has gained little attention – the role of anti-populism in political and media discourse. The EU-funded Anti-pop project will explore how traditional liberal-centrist political and media actors counter the challenge of populism. Specifically, it will combine tools from linguistics with rhetorical analysis and concepts from political theory to explain the role of anti-populism in political and media discourse and its confrontation with populism, as well as their implications for democratic debate.

Objective

In 2017, the Cambridge dictionary picked ‘populism’ as its ‘word of the year’. This is of no surprise. In the European context in particular, populism is blamed for serious problems, such as the polarisation of political life, the decline of trust towards institutions, political instability, and the aggression and stridency seen in the public sphere. However, the wide use of the term raises questions about what exactly is captured by it, and whether it offers a fruitful way of framing all these developments. Despite the impressive growth we see in populism research in the last decade, little attention has been drawn to how traditional liberal-centrist political and media actors counter the challenge of populism – i.e. to anti-populism. What often goes unnoticed is that the negative valence that ‘populism’ has acquired, and its elevation to a central political frame may itself be contributing to polarisation by solidifying a new divide along the populism/anti-populism line. Anti-pop will explain the role of anti-populism in political and media discourse and its confrontation with populism, and the implications of these for democratic debate. It will do this by developing an innovative interdisciplinary approach combining tools from linguistics with rhetorical analysis and concepts from political theory, and deploying it for the analysis of a large and varied body of data. Anti-pop’s findings and dissemination approach will foster in-depth reflection and assessment of this framing in European media, political, and institutional discourse, and will contribute to the nuancing of public debate.

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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020

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Coordinator

VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 178 320,00
Address
PLEINLAAN 2
1050 BRUSSEL
Belgium

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Region
Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Arr. de Bruxelles-Capitale/Arr. Brussel-Hoofdstad
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 178 320,00
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