Call for Papers
What can history tell us about populism today? And what can today’s populism theory tell us about historical movements or moments? Classic cases of populism, such as Peronism and the American Populists, are often swept aside when discussing “populism” today in media, politics, and academia alike. Perhaps today’s “populism” has nothing to do with the “populism” of the past – or does it? In this symposium, we engage with the work of Charles Postel, visiting professor at HEPP, known for his investigation of historical American populism in his book, The Populist Vision. Since the beginning of the Tea Party movement, Postel has been asked to comment on contemporary U.S. politics, without obvious connection to past populism; here, however, he is giving a keynote talk about Trump’s politics: ‘The Trump Presidency: Roots, Symbols, and Models of Power.’ Another important historical example is Peronism in Argentina, where populism is synonymous with this main left-wing political movement in the country – which is now strongly opposed to the government of Javier Milei. Our keynote speaker from Buenos Aires, Sabrina Morán, will discuss exactly this issue: ‘In the name of the people: “Populism” and political polarization in contemporary Argentina.’
Definitional problems are derived from these ‘originary populist experiences’ in the Americas, which this symposium hopes to explore with a view to contemporary examples. Ernesto Laclau, an Argentinian theorist of populism and democracy, stressed how populism as a political logic is distinct from fascism but has the inbuilt tendency of diversion to fascism with the closure of the demos. Is this tendency visible in today’s political movements labelled as populist? And does the label of ‘populist’ still suffice in these potential cases? How has the concept developed, changed, and expanded since the first ‘populists’ arose?The Helsinki Hub on Emotions, Populism, and Polarisation is organizing a two-day international symposium on 3-4 November 2025 to explore these questions. We invite contributions on diverse regions that somehow integrate the study of history and populism, including but not limited to:
- Populist movements of the past, and historical analogies in or to contemporary cases
- Conceptual histories of populism
- Theorizing populism in connection with the past
- Applications of populism theory to historical moments
Our symposium will feature two keynote speakers: Charles Postel (Professor of History, San Francisco State University) and Sabrina Morán (Researcher in populism studies, CONICET and the Instituto Gino Germany at the University of Buenos Aires). You can find more information about their talks on the event page,
The event is onsite and only streamed for the HEPPsinki research group. Please submit your paper proposals online
- A paper title
- An abstract of 2000 characters or less
- Five keywords answering the paper’s topic, method, theory, data, country case (if applicable)
The deadline for submission hsa been extended to 5 October 2025. Selections will be made by 10 October.
We unfortunately cannot provide any funding to attend this symposium.
For more details, see the
Organizers: Emilia Palonen (
This event is funded by the European Union, through the
Photo credits to the Library of Congress (left) and