In recent years, an explosion of populist movements has led some scholars to conceptualise them as part of a larger global “populist wave”. This phenomenon of populist upsurges has spread throughout much of the Europe and North America, manifesting as movements and parties that share similar styles of language and rhetoric but diverge greatly across the left/right political spectrum. Despite large scale populist victories in other states, Canadian politics has displayed a distinct absence of any powerful national populist parties or movements. However, some researchers note nascent populist elements in Canada’s current political sphere both regionally and nationally. This thesis attempts to answer the question to what extent populist influence may have already penetrated the politics of Canada’s major parties and to whether left-or right-wing variations of populism have been employed to a greater degree. This research employs a mixed method content analysis of each of Canada’s major parties’ electoral manifestos from the last three federal elections. It measures the frequency and intensity of the use of both left and right populist language and rhetoric in each of the nine examined manifestos. The study findings suggest that, while the manifestos of all three parties demonstrate an overall increase in total usage of populist language and rhetoric between 2011 and 2019, only the NDP displays a consistent increase across all three electoral years. Furthermore, the use of left vs right populist rhetoric and language generally falls along party lines reflecting the parties’ relative positions on the political spectrum. This paper ultimately concludes that while populism has seen increased use in the manifestos of Canada’s mainstream parties, the rhetoric and language used operates within a firm ideological framework for all three parties.

Populistiska krafter blir allt mer inflytelserika runt om i västvärlden, populism inklusive alla dess olika inriktningar får ett allt större stöd hos befolkningen sedan början på 2000-talet. Denna uppsats undersöker fyra förklaringsfaktorer som främjar populistiska attityder hos individer som ingår i Europa Social Survey data. Dessa faktorer grundas i Ronald Inglehart och Pippa Norris förklaringsmodeller och skapar underlag för studiens hypoteser. För att genomföra detta tillämpas kvantitativ forskningsstrategi med en deduktiv ansats. Indikatorer i analysen är sekundärdata från ESS som används för att summera ett populismindex och finna förklaringsvariabler. Syftet är att med hjälp av multipel regressionsanalys framställa vilka förklaringsfaktorer har en påverkan på populistiska attityder samt påvisa ett signifikant samband. Analysen framställer hur populistiska attityder ser ut bland studiens inkluderade länder, samt påvisar ett samband mellan populismindexet och utvalda förklaringsfaktorer. Resultatet visar att fyra förklaringsfaktorer som har inkluderats i studien har effekt på individers mottaglighet för populistiska attityder. Följaktligen redogörs att om individen är missnöjd med livet i sin helhet eller med vårdtjänsterna som finns i respektive land, kan det leda till att den är mer mottaglig för populistiska attityder än om den har låg utbildningsnivå eller tillhör den äldre generationen. Det innebär att studiens hypoteser som avser missnöje och individens bakgrundsfaktorer stämmer överens med Ingleharts och Norris förklaringsmodeller.

The concept of populism has been criticised for being vague and unclear, still it is used to describe something powerful, namely fierce mobilisations of support. The media frequently produces headlines labelling actors as populist and political actors tend to frame their political opponents as such, but what is populism really? The populist title is frequently associated with actors such as radical right-wing parties and Donald Trump, however this study aims to investigate an unexpected case. Given that the environmental movement Fridays for Future has carried out a fierce mobilisation of support, is it possible that there are any populist tendencies in ways of which the movement conveys its message? Using a qualitative content approach, this descriptive study examines ten speeches performed by representatives of the movement using a theoretical framework. The results indicate that the three core concepts of populism: ‘the elite’, ‘the people’ and ‘the general will’ are present in the Fridays for Future movement.

This thesis explores the role of the phenomenon of Sevres Syndrome in the construction of the populist antagonistic relation of "us" versus "them" in Turkey. Not only does it look at its role in populist discourse, but it also highlights how it has been used throughout Turkish history by different hegemonic entities to exclude groups from the Turkish nation. It begins by briefly looking at the origins of Sevres Syndrome in the Treaty of Sevres and its manifestations throughout the history of the Turkish Republic as a fear of outside powers and their domestic collaborators intent on dividing and destroying the Turkish nation. It continues by providing an in-depth analysis of the populist discourse regarding the specific events of the July 2016 coup attempt and the April 2017 constitutional referendum to explore how Sevres Syndrome informs the development of the populist relation of "us" and "them". The thesis argues that the Sevres Syndrome fear narrative acts as a historic background narrative, which informs the discursive categorization of which groups belong to the populist "us" of the Turkish nation as opposed to the populist "them" of foreign powers and their domestic collaborators. / Master of Arts / The discursive construction of the populist "us" versus "them" relation has played a role in Turkish politics since the founding of the Turkish Republic. Following the Ottoman defeat in World War II, the Treaty of Sevres signed between Allied powers and representatives of the dying Ottoman government divided the Anatolian peninsula between various entities until the country was united under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and the newly declared Turkish government in Ankara. However, the memory of national division under the Treaty of Sevres left a lasting impact on the country that has continued till today. Political discourse contains numerous references to vague outside powers who are supposedly aiming to divide and destroy the Turkish nation with the aid of domestic traitors. As argued by this thesis, this narrative has become the foundation for the discursive construction of the populist "us" versus "them" relation in which groups are associated as being either on the side of the Turkish nation or on the side of supposed dark forces plotting to nationally and territorially divide Turkey.

This thesis examines the political style and public image of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. It argues that Chávez fulfills the criteria of a classical populist, in accordance with renowned cases of populism in Latin American history. His style is further analyzed through Chávezs relationship with his Venezuelan supporters and his diplomacy in the Latin American community. Three characteristics are emphasized: the radicalism of his image and policy, a casual and accessible approach, and the use of historical references. This thesis relies on primary sources such as speeches, interviews, and government publications, as well as media coverage of the Chávez regime. This study expounds the polarization of Venezuelan politics under Chávez, and connects his leadership to a larger trend in Latin American history.

This thesis examines the political style and public image of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. It argues that Chávez fulfills the criteria of a classical populist, in accordance with renowned cases of populism in Latin American history. His style is further analyzed through Chávezs relationship with his Venezuelan supporters and his diplomacy in the Latin American community. Three characteristics are emphasized: the radicalism of his image and policy, a casual and accessible approach, and the use of historical references. This thesis relies on primary sources such as speeches, interviews, and government publications, as well as media coverage of the Chávez regime. This study expounds the polarization of Venezuelan politics under Chávez, and connects his leadership to a larger trend in Latin American history.

This thesis tests one of the approaches that analyzes the rise of right-wing populist parties, "the economic crisis" approach. The core idea of this theory is that during an economic crisis, there is a rise of electoral support for the right-wing populist parties. The two case studies which are studied are the (Northern) League in Italy and the National Front/Rally in France. These analyses include a brief history of the said parties, their political profile, and the results in elections after the 2008-2009 financial crisis. As well as data on the profile of supporters of these parties and the reasons why they support these parties, and their views on some of the main political and social issues. From the data confrontation it is shown that there is no correlation between times of economic hardship, and the electoral success of these parties. And what is more important supporters of these parties also emphasize reasons related with identity rather than economic problems for supporting these parties. For economic issues they have a similar perception to the rest of the population. Keywords Populism, right-wing populism, populist parties, economic crisis, elections, identity.

Den här fallstudien försöker beskriva uppkomsten av populism i Kungälvs kommun. Innan valet 2010 fanns inga aktiva populistiska partier i Kungälvs kommunfullmäktige, efter valet 2010 hade drygt var 10:e invånare i kommunen röstat på ett populistiskt parti och efter valet finns det numera två aktiva populistiska partier i kommunen, Sverigedemokraterna och Utvecklingspartiet.Den här studien riktar sig främst mot att undersöka existensen av Utvecklingspartiet, eftersom jag drar slutsatsen att Sverigedemokraternas intåg i kommunfullmäktige beror på rikstrenden, då det saknas en kommunal politik.   Utvecklingspartiet uppstod som effekter av ett internt politiskt bråk inom Moderaterna och som ett resultat av olika uppfattningar om hur kommunen bör ledas och organiseras. Uppsatsen tar med hjälp av kända forskare som Erlingsson, Panizza och Peters fram orsaker till varför de kommunala partierna har ”misslyckats” med styret, som gjort att två nya partier har fått grogrund och lyckats etablera sig.     Orsakerna har bland annat visat sig vara att den nya organisationsmodellen POF har givit uttryck för många olika åsikter om hur kommunen skall agera samt att en avsaknad av policys kring hur den politiska dialogen skall praktiseras har givit uttryck för missnöje bland politikerna. Detta missnöje är grunden för skapandet av Utvecklingspartiet och det tillsammans med redan existerande kommunala ”misslyckanden”, olika projekt som har retat upp olika delar av kommunens invånare i sakfrågor, har utvecklat populismen inom Kungälvs kommun.

The aim of this study is to provide an investigation of an ”old” political phenomenon that over the recent years has enjoyed a considerable revival across Europe. This study about nationalism is mainly based on empirical second hand source material from literature and articles providing us with both a historical as well as a contemporary insight in this ideology.   This study shows us the complexity and the difficulties that the academia is facing regarding nationalism due to the dynamic nature of the ideology, in the sense that it simply means different things to different peoples in different cultures across different points in time. The study is conducted by using a phenomenological, qualitative and inductive method of gathering and interpreting information.  A handful of books have formed the foundation through the gathering of relevant empirical information, along with articles from both scientific publications as well as the mainstream media. The data have been studied and laid out to make key points regarding nationalism and the theory behind it clear for the reader. These tomes have been selected primarily due to their relevance and their scientific credibility though comprehensively presented sources and comprehensive content, secondly because of the authors which some of are often quoted in discussions about nationalism.   The case for this study is the Austrian party FPÖ that has been a key player in Austrian as well as European politics. Analyzing this party helps us to understand the new wave of nationalism across Europe that has emerged in the recent years.

This thesis endeavours to answer the question, “What does the Reform Party’s ‘populism’ consist of?” An attempt is made herein to characterize the nature of the Reform Party’s populism via Margaret Canovan’s typology of populisms. The analysis concludes that the Reform Party manifests the characteristics of two of the seven different kinds of populist phenomena that Canovan identifies. It is found, on the one hand, that through his “antipolitical” rhetorical orientation, Reform Party leader Preston Manning evinces a certain form of what Canovan refers to as “politicians’ populism.” On the other hand, it is posited that the party’s policies vis a vis federal bilingualism, multiculturalism and immigration programs reflect Canovan’s conception of “reactionary populism.”