Search

This paper develops a relational analysis of populism. After placing the rise of contemporary European populism in the post-Cold War context, the static definition of populism as a "thin-centred" and restrictive ideology is exposed. A definition of populism as a process is used, in contrast with the tendency to apply static definitions. The figure of Pablo Iglesias is in this sense presented as an exemplary case that demonstrates the limitations of the use of these static definitions. The EU is also examined as a body that is spearheading the depoliticising processes that provoke the populist reaction - placing the focus on the "New Intergovernmentalism" to interpret the integration dilemmas - and the populist-technocratic and liberal-democratic dichotomies are addressed as historical endosymbioses. Finally, consideration is given to what should be done about the populist impasse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature maintains that not all populisms are equal. Some are seen as projects of regeneration or democratisation because they would incorporate an excluded people; others are movements that would weaken democracy by promoting exclusion (xenophobia and racism). The former is "left-wing populism" while the latter is "right-wing populism". This paper shows that what is central to populism is its model of democracy, not whether it is situated on the right or the left. To do this, an evaluation is made of the democratic balance of populisms in three countries in Europe (Austria, France and Hungary) and three in Latin America (Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela). As will be shown, those of the right have no more contributed to the destruction of democracy than those on the left may be presented as democratising successes; but all represent a profound challenge to liberal democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there is an important consensus regarding the fact that regions have lost their attraction in terms of European studies. This leads us to the following paradox: while the metaphor "Europe of the Regions" that had such great resonance in the 1990s has become discredited, the degree of regional commitment with the EU has been constantly rising. Nowadays, the EU is enmeshed in a crisis that is not only of an economic and financial nature, but also a crisis of democracy. In this context, it seems appropriate to 'recover' this study on the role of regions in the European system of governance. This paper alms, on the one hand, to review the evolution of the role of regions in the European system of governance, and on the other, to explore the way in which this role has been dealt with in the European integration literature. Its ultimate goal is to understand what the future prospects are for regions within the integration process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]