Project description
Rethinking sovereignty on the European left
Populism is often linked with the radical right, but since the 2010s, several radical left parties in Europe have gained support by using populist rhetoric that pits ‘the people’ against ‘the elite’ and calls for deeper democracy. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the EuLeSov project argues that sovereignty is central to its agenda. By studying four parties (La France insoumise, the Workers’ Party of Belgium, Podemos, and Sinn Féin), the project examines how their internal dynamics build people-centred, anti-elitist narratives on both popular and national sovereignty. This research sheds new light on how the radical left has evolved in Europe since the fall of the Soviet Union and amid rising political change.
Objective
Scholars have long mainly associated the concept of populism – and its corollaries, such as sovereignty – with radical right political parties. However, in Europe, since the 2010s, the rise and electoral breakthroughs of the radical left have been based on populist elements, i.e. on rhetoric (1) opposing the people to the elite, and (2) demanding a radicalisation of democracy through the concept of popular sovereignty. Most scholars retain a minimal definition of populism based on three elements (people- centrism, anti-elitism, popular sovereignty) and therefore consider national sovereignty as a corollary of left-wing populist discourses. On the contrary, EuLeSov will consider national sovereignty as a constitutive element of (partisan) left-wing populism. The project focuses on internal party dynamics (membership and leadership) and aims to examine why and how the people the people-centrism and anti-elitism of European left-wing populist parties is built on the concept of popular sovereignty (plebs-people) but also on that of national sovereignty (nation-people). The project applies a mixed-methods research design to the comparative study of four political organizations (La France insoumise [Unbowed France, LFI], Parti du travail de Belgique [Workers’ Party of Belgium, PTB], Podemos [We Can] and Sinn Féin [Ourselves]) in four countries (France, Belgium, Spain and Northern Ireland). This empirical approach will provide a better understanding of the mutations that the radical left party family has known since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Examining the articulation between left-wing populism and national sovereignty is today crucial as some of these parties have succeeded in taking power and others are at the verge of power. Understanding their relationship to national sovereignty contributes to the understanding of the major political changes that Western Europe has experienced since the Great Recession.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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EH8 9YL Edinburgh
United Kingdom
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