How does political power affect populist rhetoric? The research on populism has failed to describe the difference in discourse between populist parties in opposition and in government. The previous academic debate has consisted of two fundamental areas of focus; definitions that are centered around identity formations, and the political or societal effects of populism in power, referring to issues related to democracy and rule of law. This study argues that populist rhetoric contains both elements and should therefore be studied as such. It aims to increase the understanding of how populism is expressed before and during governance, and how this differs. Using rule of law as an analytical measuring instrument and tools and theories from discourse analysis, Fidesz, the ruling party of Hungary, is examined by qualitative text analysis. The study finds that the idea of “us” as the people and “them” as the elite survives with populism in power, where “them” as the elite no longer consists of domestic political opponents, but rather international political opponents and organizations. Further it finds that the values connected to rule of law are abandoned in favor of a more technical meaning.

In the following thesis, American populism's many manifestations throughout American history as well as its current forms in contemporary politics will be analyzed mainly through the lens of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, who are two prominent political figures that have managed to amass a considerable degree of support. In Trump's case, his populist rhetoric and authoritarian slant has allowed him to garner enough support to ascend to the position of President of the United States of America, arguably one of the most powerful political positions on planet Earth. Current trends such as dissatisfaction amongst the voting constituencies of Democrats and Republicans, rises in authoritarian attitudes amongst voters, neoliberalism, and free trade's implications on the American worker, and more will be analyzed in order to understand the popularity of these two political figures and the populist language they employ in their policies and rhetoric.

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This study aims to examine the existence of populism in campaign speeches held by the Swedish party the Social Democrats in the election years 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 in Almedalen. By attempting to answer if there is any populism in the party´s speeches, and if the populism has increased over the years, the essay will analyze the speeches using a qualitative text analysis and a descriptive idea analysis. Based on the study of the theory, ideal types have been created to be applied to the speeches. The study´s definition of populism is created by Mudde and Kaltwasser (2017).They mean that populism is a communication style used in politics. This study’s results show that there is populism in the Social Democrats speeches held in Almedalen. The results also show that various amounts of populism have existed in the speeches over the years.

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The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what the crucial factors in shaping the political trend toward the right and right wing populism in Sweden are. In recent years, populism and certainly right wing populism has evolved into being a large part of Swedish politics as well as in the rest of the western world, where parties and political actors that are called populist are more and more successful and mainstream. The 2022 general elections in Sweden followed this trend, where Sverigedemokraterna (The Sweden Democrats) who are described and seen in Sweden and abroad as right wing populist, became the second largest party with over 20 percent of the total vote. As a consequence of that, they became a collaborating party to the new coalition government. This thesis has, through an analysis of data on the elections and exit polls from past elections analyzed with the help of the relevant theoretical framework through a method of a qualitative theory based analysis examined which factors have been instrumental in shaping the Swedish political landscape in the 21st century. The study came to identify that there certainly has been a shift and the right wing parties in particular Sverigedemokraterna have benefitted from this change. They have successfully used populism, nationalism and other concepts like euroscepticism to gain voter support, and force other political parties to move further in their direction but that there is no exact proof of how or why exactly they managed to do so other than educated and informed discussions on the possible causes.

As an advanced society of industrialized capitalism has an ever-tighter grip on our everyday lives, I ask if rebellion is possible in the current context. To this end, I formulate a model of rebellion based on my readings of Marcuse and Camus; from Marcuse, the idea that a person can formulate a rebellious subjectivity through the consumption of art in the creation of the aesthetic dimension, and from Camus, an individual placing limits on what oppression he will take from an existing order and at what point she will say "no" to that order and giving a concurrent "yes" by acting in such a way that fosters Camus' human community. I argue after the Cold War especially, the bureaucratic society of controlled consumption closes down spaces for meaningful rebellion. As we have moved from hip consumerism to market populism, the goal of the existing order is for the citizens thereof to legitimate the order. I analyze various groups to see if they are engaging in rebellion, such as Al Qaeda, Hamas, the Earth and Animal Liberation Fronts, and analyze their methods. I find that instead of labeling as terrorist or rebel, we should let the rebellious subjectivity guide our judgment of their actions. Ultimately, I conclude that rebellion is still a possibility even in the encroaching totality of the bureaucratic society of controlled consumption, and that a preservation of the rebellious subjectivity can provide a basis for formulating a rebellious praxis not yet called into being. / Master of Arts

The rise of the anti-gender movement alongside the ascendance of right-wing populism presents a pressing global concern. This thesis delves into the discursive practices of right-wing populist parties in Scandinavia, aiming to elucidate their framings of gender, family, and child safety, and to ascertain any correlation with the global anti-gender movement. Through a comprehensive literature review, previous studies were categorised into three main areas: the nexus between right-wing populism and the anti-gender movement, anti-gender discourse analysis, and discursive strategies of right-wing populist parties. Grounded in constructivism, the study employed framing theory and critical frame analysis as methodological frameworks. Analysis of Scandinavian right-wing populist parties revealed varying framings, with correlations between the anti-gender movement and certain parties' discourses. While the Norwegian Progress Party showed no clear correlation, the Swedish Democrats showed alignment with two anti-gender frames, and the Danish People’s Party with all three. These findings underscore the need for further research in this understudied field, offering insights crucial for addressing the intertwined dynamics of right-wing populism and the anti-gender movement in Scandinavia and beyond.

This study aims to clarify the usage of negative campaning by the Swedendemocrats and the Left party during the 2014 and 2022 Almedal speech. The studies motive is to better understand how to parties on the opposite side of the political scale construct issues and negatively portray the other parties and their issues. The data comes exclusively from the Almedals speech as this platform is the best for spreading negative campaigning. Due to the study concerning negative campaigning it´s important to put forward how the parties use their negative campaigning, and which political actors are being portrayed and how. Also, the study has analysed the usage of populism by the two parties. The results show that both parties actively use negative campaigning and populism to negatively portray the opposition and to elevate and portray their own political issues positively. Both parties also heavily rely on the usage of populism to legitimize themselves as “the people´s party” and to delegitimize the opposition.

This thesis aims to examine if performative populism exists within the Sweden Democrats and if the level of populism has changed over time. By using a gradational approach when conceptualising populism, it seeks to address a case of ‘mixed bags’. Furthermore, this paper address questions regarding how to measure populism and how to operationalise populism into context. Populism is conceptualised as a political style, according to Benjamin Moffitt’s work on populism. Thus, the performative side of the leader is central. This includes content, rhetoric, gestures and the theatrical side of the leader’s performance. By using a twofold methodological approach, a quantitative content analysis, followed by a qualitative one, both frequency of populist indications and how they relate to each other can be accounted for. Results indicate that populism exists within the Sweden Democrats, and that the level of populism seems to be increasing over time. Moreover, while the methodological approach is sufficient for measuring the level in terms of less and more, it cannot account for degree in terms of index.