Posts

Posted on

Defining terms: Fascism vs. Populism

During the readings for this week, as we have all read, the terms fascism and populism come up often.

When defining the term fascism, a lot of examples had come up, particularly in the reading by Frederico Finchelstein. There, I enjoyed the definition of the term populism as “a political form that thrives in democracies that are particularly unequal…” etc. But yet, this also proves that populism is capable of undermining democracy without breaking it. Finchelstein put it into good words by saying if populism extinguishes democracy, it becomes a dictatorship.

With regard to fascism, I liked that Donald Trump was a key topic of conversation. I found it interesting, yet it made sense to me, that Roger Griffin did not see Donald Trump as a fascist because of his own definition of the term. In his definition, for someone to be fascist, they need to have a longing for a new order, a new nation, and not just an old reformed one. Trump’s catchphrase is “make America great again” which to me, indicates that he did not necessarily want to go a new way in government, but back to how it used to be, I’m assuming prior to Obama. So by this definition, Griffin is correct in saying that Trump is not a fascist.

I am running a bit long here, but I just wanted to add lastly that there was a question in one of the readings about if fascism has really returned from its 1945 grave. As of now, I would agree that fascism hasn’t truly come back as much as others may disagree. Not by true definition. However, populism seems to be the bigger issue now as there is a rival between the common people and the “elites” or the 1%.

Posted on

Defining Terms – Populism Versus Fascism

The readings from this week all center around a similar topic and that is defining populism versus fascism. All the authors from this week seem to have their own definitions, which are similar in some points, but they are clearly different definitions and none in my opinion are one hundred percent concrete.

Looking back at the reading, I found it fascinating the similarities between fascism and populism. With them both being ran by confident, charismatic leaders. But also, the enormous differences, with fascism being against democracy often creating a dictatorship (Finchelstein, 2017). While populist leaders would often work in a democratic state. Before doing the readings, I have heard very little about the term populism but after going over them I had a better understanding. Especially the Finchelstein one that was rather descriptive on the subject. He goes into depth on how many people may have mixed ideas on what populism actually is and how people can use the terms of fascism and populism interchangeably especially people who may have very little knowledge on either subject.

One thing that especially stood out to me was how both Mudde and Finchelstein made a point in saying that Populism is neither left nor right and it is highly dependant on the populist actor and their own personal ideals. I feel as that would be very important as this shows that populist ideals can vary in their ways and as Mudde states often a populist leader has a larger ideology in mind with populism being a secondary note. So being the fact that this is one of the first times I have actually read about this word populism, I am left still a little confused and in need of further research on the subject.

References

Federico Finchelstein, “Introduction: Thinking Fascism and Populism in terms of the Past” in Federico Finkelstein, From Fascism to Populism in History (University of California Press, 2017).

Cas Mudde, “Populism in Europe: An Illiberal Democratic Response to Undemocratic Liberalism” (The Government and Opposition/Leonard Schapiro Lecture 2019). Government and Opposition, (2021): 1-21.

Posted on

Introduction

Hi everybody my name is Blaise, I’m a fourth your student in BGINS with a specialization in global politics. A lot of my interest stems from the interaction between economic, development, and security policy and how interactions within these spheres of policies can have much larger rippling effects over all of society.

On a personal level I love just being outside whether that’s playing sports or just existing in the outdoors, it just brings me loads of happiness. I find that nature just puts everything into greater perspective as our (human) problems are only temporary to the Earth. It gives me a little solace when discussing some of the heavier topics we will be discussing in class.

I look forward to getting to know everybody this semester!

This is me stuck in a snow drift after hiking 10km up a mountain near Banff
Posted on

Introduction – Melyssa Clark

Hi All,

I’m a master’s student in the EU stream of the the European Russian and Eurasian Studies (EURUS) program. For my undergrad degree, I majored in political science with a double minor in French and business studies. Topics that I’m interested in studying are domestic EU politics, environmental politics, and populism. My MRP topic will focus on analyzing the European Parliament’s right-wing populist party’s response to the European Climate Law.

A little about me personally, I’m originally from Alberta and as a result of having the Rocky Mountains in my backyard, I’m an avid hiker/backpacker. The most recent and longest backpacking trip that I’ve done was the West Coast Trail. Some other hobbies of mine include cycling, photography, cross-country skiing, refinishing antique furniture, and collecting plants.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk! Looking forward to a great class with you!

Posted on

How do we Capture Populism? – Jacob Braun

Ever since the election of Donald Trump in 2016, the term “populism” has seen a resurgence in academic literature and popular media. Although the idea of populism has been studied and monitored since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, most still have a very faint idea of what the concept actually means.

In his podcast with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Rogers Brubaker lays out a general definition of populism as a repertoire of worldviews— characterised by a distrust in governmental institutions, cultural protectionism and crass behaviour. Despite populism further being argued as neither left nor right by Cas Mudde, right-wing populists have been able to wield this repertoire effectively as to champion their political objectives ostensibly in the name of the people. But if populism represents a fight against the elite caste of society which can be manipulated for both the left and right wings of the political spectrum, how does fascism connect to it? 

According to Federico Finchelstein, populism in theory rejects the raw forms of political violence presented by fascism. But, the intolerant nature of right-wing populism as well as its many similarities to fascism provides a readily available jumping-off point for its followers to radicalise into fascists. For instance, Robert Paxton presents the invention of fascism as a kind of “national socialism;” a stark similarity to the populist rhetoric of patriotism and national identity with a necessity to protect the lower class of society who have fallen prey to parasitic elites. Sound familiar?

Through this week’s readings, we can attribute a loose definition to the ephemeral concept of populism and connect it to its most dangerous extreme form, fascism.

Posted on

“Deus Vult!” A phrase with many meanings

I am choosing to write on last week’s readings for now, but I see everyone is writing on this week’s readings. Worst comes to worst I do two reflections this week…

The phrase “Deus Vult!” or “God wills it”, is a phrase I have heard a few times before, but I had never known what the term really meant or why it was being used.

It seems that shouting the phrase could be very innocent, but in a decade of Trump supporters, Islamophobia and other issues, the term has almost a new meaning. In the reading by Sal Hagen on this phrase, we learn that it is a historical catchphrase that was intended to align people into recapturing the Holy Land. Therefore, it has become a more far-right catchphrase that is slightly problematic.

Although it was interesting to learn that it was not just Americans who began to use this phrase in a more extreme right way, it also fueled Israel’s far-right and the Brazilian far-right as well. However, in either case, it is used to promote a more white and Christian perspective and to extend cases of Islamophobia.

Something that I continue to struggle with is that Christians claim to be loving and accepting of all people, but then you have these cases in multiple areas where the far-right of these groups are hating on others. Which you would believe to be the opposite going off of what they tell others. Alas, that is more on the side of my opinion, so I will stop there.

I think using the phrase as a meme can be funny and innocent in a particular context with friends. However, to use a catchphrase in terms of hate is a bit ridiculous. However, it seems that everyone needs to hate someone. In the reading of the Brazilian far-right, it is interesting that the government used another phrase, “Brazil above everything, God above all,” which is a religious twist on a slogan from the Nazi Party.

There’s much I could talk about on this phrase but I will leave it here for now.

Posted on

Introduction

Kaileigh La Belle

Hello everyone!

My name is Kaileigh and I am a fourth-year History student with a minor in Sexuality Studies. As you can probably guess, I am very interested in the history of sexuality. I particularly enjoy studying queer and trans histories in 20th Century Europe and North America, as well colonial/imperial discourses on sexuality. Outside of class, I enjoy reading (especially historical fiction), writing, and doing crafts such as knitting, sewing, and beading. I look forward to getting to know you all over the semester!

Posted on

Introduction :)

Me and my trusty hat

Hi new faces and old alike! My name is Hannah and I am in my fourth year of History, concentrating in Public History (to sound a little fancy). My relationship with history has always been a very present part of my life, as I have been fascinated with history on a global scale since I was very young. I can attribute this to my immigration to Canada and relatives back in the UK who would give me history books as presents and take me to historic sites on my visits back.

Recently over the summer I was fortunate enough to volunteer with archeologists on a Roman Villa and was able to expand my insight into how history is viewed and treated in different countries. I really enjoy seeing the variety of jobs available in this field and how different they all are from each other!

See you all in class!

Posted on

Defining Terms – Populism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism

The readings for this week by Brubaker, Finchelstein, Mudde, and Paxton, all question why we label governments, or different classes/groups of people as populist, authoritarian, or fascist. Brubaker questions if the term “populism” is used as a tool for analysis, or if it is just a journalistic cliché that is thrown around as a label for groups and individuals. By extension I feel that this idea applies to the other terms as well. Do we use the terms authoritarian, or fascist to gauge ongoing political issues, or are they just catchy headline terms that garner clicks? In other words, how do we utilize these terms?

In tandem with their utilization, the readings all question and analyze their characterization. These terms generally carry a very negative denotation with them due to their history, (particularly due to the events that transpired throughout the 20th century in Europe) and generally speaking most people would likely not want to be directly associated with them. A major point of contention when discussing these terms is questioning how we identify them? Do we label them as worldviews, ideologies, or can we even put them on the same level as an ‘ism’ like conservatism, liberalism, and socialism? One thing is certain, and that’s that all three terms define a strong political viewpoint regarding governance and equality.

Readings:

  • Rogers Brubaker, “Why Populism?” NUPI Podcast (51 minutes) 
  • Federico Finchelstein, “Introduction: Thinking Fascism and Populism in terms of the Past” in Federico Finkelstein, From Fascism to Populism in History (University of California Press, 2017).
  • Cas Mudde, “Populism in Europe: An Illiberal Democratic Response to Undemocratic Liberalism” (The Government and Opposition/Leonard Schapiro Lecture 2019). Government and Opposition, (2021): 1-21.
  • Robert Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism (New York, 2004), pp 3-23.
Posted on

Introduction…

Hey everyone! My name is Nicole and I’m in my fourth year of Journalism here at Carleton, minoring in history. History, especially European history and the history of WW2, is a subject that my parents engraved into my head as being both important and interesting since I was a kid.

I have always had an interest in European history, more so in England as my great grandparents came from there after the Second World War. Before everything that has been occurring in the news lately, I have also always been fascinated by the Royal family as a topic of history going back to King Henry VIII.

I am excited to see what this semester brings, and I look forward to getting to know all of you a little bit better.

Cheers!