Dr. Frank Meyer is working at the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography in Leipzig/Germany and is a visiting researcher at the University of Helsinki. In October last year, he started his research project on rural populism in the German region of Lusatia.
Since the 1990s, populism has been on the rise globally, and the concept has increasingly been used, making it essential to clarify and critically examine its definition. The phenomenon of populism is usually associated with a right-wing orientation and connected to nationalism. Among the main characteristics of populism is an antipluralist conception of society being divided into two allegedly homogeneous groups: the true people and the corrupt elite. Another common feature of all types of populism is the rejection of intermediary institutions (such as scientists, journalists, etc.), which are considered to be misleading and obstructing the communication between leaders and citizens.
Dr. Meyer focused his research on populism as a communicative structure that uses references to rural vs. urban areas, a phenomenon also common in countries such as the United States and across Europe. Several factors contribute to populist electoral success, often rooted in a general sense of dissatisfaction with capitalist development and its perceived negative effects on rural regions.
Based on a review of the literature, Frank Meyer deduced commonalities between the different examples of (rural) populism regarding their communicative structure. These commonalities related to five dichotomies as core distinctions between the people and the elite:
- temporality: The past is positively associated with traditionality, whereas the present is associated with its loss.
- spatiality: The people are associated with rural areas, whereas the elite is located in urban areas.
- values: The people are associated with traditional values and virtues, whereas the elite is associated with their absence.
- truths: Populists claim that the people possess access to authentic and right knowledge and behavior.
- groups: Rural regions are assumed to be inhabited by workers, traditional families, or autochthonous groups, whereas urban areas are considered to host criminals, migrants, and corrupted people.
The lecture was followed by a comment session by University Researcher Niko Pyrhönen, who later engaged in an insightful discussion with Frank Meyer regarding the role symbolic and material promises play in populism.
Dr. Meyer was also asked about the role of utopias in relation to populism. He explained that leaders often use colourful language to refer to authenticity, self-determination, connection to the land, nature, and the past, but they lack any positive future imaginary. The lack of utopias could be explained by the fact that rural populism (like other right-wing movements and parties) is “retrograde” and past-oriented.