Working Paper Series

The present volume draws together a fascinating collection of working papers from the HEPP5 conference, held at the University of Helsinki on March 5-7, 2025. As HEPP5 was our biggest and most thematically expansive conference yet, it is no surprise that this issue of the HEPP Working Paper Series is similarly expansive. The conference featured a key focus on the social contract, following the work done in our Continuous Construction of Resilient Social Contracts Through Societal Transformations (CO3) Horizon Europe project. While the papers collected in this volume do not directly deal with social contract theory, they present a wide range of approaches on how to study the societal crises that the CO3 project looks at through the lens of fracturing social contracts. 

The papers break down into four categories: theoretical innovations, historical analyses, media approaches, and global case studies. We are proud that the topics addressed here showcase what we see as HEPP’s main strengths: our focus on interdisciplinary populism research, especially highlighting the importance of emotions and the media; and our global outlook. The HEPP conferences have been hybrid, with a hybrid panel in HEPP1, fully online HEPP2.  HEPP3 in 2022 ushered us out of our pandemic cocoons, and while this requires substantial additional organization on our side, you can witness the payoff of this approach in this very volume. Several of the authors could only participate online, and this option greatly widened the geographical scope of the case studies featured both at the conference and here. As you read through these pages, the authors will take you across four continents, and from an analysis of populism in Italian pop culture to a quantitative look at Czech populism in the media.

Editors: Ilana Hartikainen and Olena Siden

Emilia Palonen: Foreword: The Social Contract in Politics    6
Ilana Hartikainen & Olena Siden: Introduction    7 
Fedja Pavlovic: The Good Underdog: On Populism’s Construction of ‘the People’    10
Tommaso Valastro: Populism, Elitism, and Civic Nationalism: An Explorative Framework    21
Jyot Shikhar Singh: Epistemic Populism and the Quest for Common Ground: Navigating Hegemony in Polarised Democracies    33
Dom Holdaway: Populist Narratives in Film and TV: A Conceptual Framework    50
Sierra Salazar: Tradition as Self-Expression: Values in the Shistdesiatnytstvo & the Silent Revolution in Ukraine    64
Chris Burden: Populism, Persona and Performance: Queer Understandings of Left-Wing Populist Discourses and Audience-Informed Reciprocal Performance Online    77
Jan Křovák: Populism and the Media as a Love-hate Relationship? Analysis of Elections Coverage in the Czech Republic    93
Raquel Tarullo: Emotions, Belonging and Transnational News Consumption: Latin American Migrants and Affective Citizenship in Spain    117
Olga Vlasova: The Politics of Pacification During Russia’s Partial Mobilisation    128
Avdi Smajljaj: The Short-term Power of Narrative on Populist Developments: The Tremendous Rise and Apparent Decline of Vetëvendosje in the Kosovo Party System    141
Yosua Praditya: Islamism and Nationalism in 212 Rally Jakarta: A Populist Convergence in Indonesia    153
Maria Plucinska: The Role of Emotion-driven Narratives and Rhetoric of Unreason in Reinforcing Polarization: The Case of Polish Debates on Drug Policy    166
Kouamé Aboubakar Kouakou: The Rise of Anti-French Sentiment in the Sahel: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Polarization in the Speeches of the Junta Leaders in Mali and Burkina Faso    178
Vincenzo Gannuscio & Silvia Modena: The Politics of Belonging: Gendered Identity and Populist Exclusion in France, Germany and Italy    191

The Helsinki Hub on Emotions Populism and Polarisation HEPP research group and colleagues have been working on a large study of social media campaigning in the European Parliamentary Elections May-June 2024. The country report is based on video recording digital fieldwork where three researchers covered three political profiles exploring what kind of content would a young person receive when leaning on far-right, centre-right and red-green political direction on TikTok and Instagram short video. The study shows how political themes and political actors were present in most of the feeds and short videos, and it accounts for which these parties, topics, and personalities were in the diverse feeds. The results unveil that short videos can indeed be a meaningful media in political communication for discussing politics, grievances - and the bases of the social contract, in Europe. It also covers negative campaigning and emotional content. The project has been enabled by funding from the European Commission for three horizon projects and Research Council of Finland. This edition's data is based on the research notes that authors as data gatherers have been making on a daily basis in their research activities, which presents the audience perspective to EP2024. The study covers ten EU Member states Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

Editors: Emilia Palonen, Alexander Alekseev and Szilvia Horváth

Authors: Alexander Alekseev, University of Helsinki, UH, (CO3); Alina Mozolevska, Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, (PLEDGE); Ana Matan, University of Zagreb (CO3); Anna Björk, Demos Helsinki (CO3); Annika Teppo, Uppsala University (CO3); Artur Lipiński, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan (MORES); Claudia Wiesner, Fulda University of Applied Sciences (CO3); Cristiano Gianolla, Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra CES, (CO3); Daniel Smilov, Centre for Liberal Strategies (CLS) Bulgaria (CO3); Dolors Palau, University of Valencia (PLEDGE); Emilia Palonen, UH (CO3 and PLEDGE); Gabriella Szabó, ELTE Centre for Social Sciences (PLEDGE and MORES); Gavin Sullivan, International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, IPU (PLEDGE); Henry Jokinen, UH; Jonas Rudolph, IPU (PLEDGE); Kaloyan Velchev, CLS (CO3); Katinka Linnamäki, UH; Kleber Carrilho, UH (ENDURE); Leon Cvrtila, University of Zagreb (CO3); María Iranzo, University of Valencia (PLEDGE); Matej Mikašinović Komšo, University of Zagreb (CO3); Mats Hyvönen, Uppsala University (CO3); Michael Guanyao Wang, CES (CO3); Nathanaël Colin-Jaeger, American University in Paris (CO3); Nina Boy, Fulda University of Applied Sciences (CO3), Roman Zinigrad, American University in Paris (CO3); Rūta Kazlauskaitė, UH (PLEDGE), Ruzha Smilova, CLS (CO3); Szilvia Horváth, UH (CO3); Viljami Vaarala, UH; Virpi Salojärvi, UH (PLEDGE).

The third volume of the HEPP working paper series compiles influential papers presented at the 4th Helsinki Conference on Emotions, Populism, and Polarization (HEPP4) in December 2023, at the University of Helsinki. This event brought together ideas, researchers, and discussions from around the world, enriching the conference with diverse perspectives and fostering cross-cultural dialogues. The papers included in this volume come from various regions and viewpoints, reflecting the different stages of development in this field of study. They provide a comprehensive look into ongoing scholarly discussions about emotions, populism, and polarization, highlighting the complexities in this research area. Emotional rhetoric, false promises, and fake news can affect people with uncertain futures in both the Global South and North. However, belonging and recognition are not only offered by dominant discourses but also by grassroots-level counter- or anti-hegemonic mobilizations, especially visible on online forums. The papers in this volume address questions that have not been thoroughly explored in recent decades: what distinguishes left- and right-wing populism, whether political movements and parties can still fit neatly into one category, and if there is a defining difference between populism in the Global North and South. The papers demonstrate that populist politics is strongly context-specific, both geographically and historically, explaining the variety of political discourses under populism, tied together with rhetoric and emotions. Case studies from Ecuador, Brazil, India, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, and Bulgaria offer detailed, time- and location-specific insights into certain populist moments, such as the global pandemic or local and supranational political elections. 

Table of content 

Kleber Carrilho, Laura Horsmanheimo & Katinka Linnamäki: Introduction (pp. 1-5) 

Pragya Yadav: Beyond Borders: Hindutva, Nationalism, and the Global South's De-Westernized Populism (pp. 6-20) 

Luiz-Alberto de Farias & Vânia Penafieri: Brazil: Digital Articulations on Political-Electoral Behavior (pp. 21-30) 

Kleber Carrilho, Marina Fontolan, Eurídice Hernandez & Giselle Silva: Polarisation and Disinformation in Brazil's COVID-19 Vaccination Onset on X (former Twitter) (pp. 31-43) 

Ágnes Virág: “…Cannot Be Too Picky…!” Populist Features of Viktor Orbán’s Figure in Caricatures (pp. 44-62) 

Alessandro Volpi: Political Theology and Political Hauntology: About the Logic of Populism in Laclau through Schmitt (pp. 63-69) 

Nevio Moreschi: The Nature of Environmental Preservation in Rafael Correa Speeches: Left-Wing Narratives, Populist Framing and Extractivism (pp. 70-85) 

Zichen Hu: Diving Deep into the Dynamic Networks and Emergent Publics in Vaccine Conspiracy Theories in the COVID-19: (Not Just) Fringe Communities on 4chan, 8chan and Reddit (pp. 86-101) 

Srijan Basu Mallick: Populism in India: Identity Formation and Community Mobilization (pp. 102-115) 

Diana Petkova: Populism and Conspiracy Theories during the Pandemic of Covid-19: Rethinking Rumor Theories in the Eastern European Context (pp. 116-128) 

Elena Berezkina: The Discourse Transformation of the Italian Right-wing Populist Parties: From Nationalism to Medium Euroscepticism (pp. 129-140) 

Martina Švecová: The Role of Social (Political) Identity and Mediated “Reality” in Voter Behaviour (Case Study Slovakia) (pp. 141-158) 

The second volume, derived from the Third HEPP Conference on Emotions, Populism, and Polarisation (HEPP3), brings together four thought-provoking papers that engage with the key themes of the conference. The first paper, “Emotions and Cultural Codes in Satirical Cartoons on the COVID-19 Pandemic: the Case Study of Nigeria,” examines artistic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically focusing on Nigeria—a country renowned for its rich tradition of satirical press cartoons and esteemed artists. The second paper, “The Emotional Identity: How Auto-affirmative Identity Politics Evokes Feelings of Self-esteem and Worthiness,” offers an analysis of the emotional underpinnings of the populist movement in Poland. Continuing the exploration of memory culture, the third paper, “Antagonism of Cultural Heritage Preservation Discourses in St. Petersburg,” delves into the emotive struggles surrounding heritage preservation in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. The fourth paper, “Platforms and Infrastructures of Political Populism in Belarus in the 2020s,” focuses on the unfinished democratic revolution and authoritarian counterrevolution in Belarus between 2020 and 2022. Each paper offers a unique lens through which to explore the complex dynamics of emotions, populism, and polarisation. By examining various case-based contexts and employing diverse methodologies, the volume provides nuanced perspectives on the role of emotions and media platforms in populism and polarisation. 

Table of content

Rūta Kazlauskaitė: Introduction (pp. 1-2) 

Patrycja Kozieł: Emotions and Cultural Codes in Satirical Cartoons on the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case Study of Nigeria (pp. 3-16) 

Siarhei Liubimau: Platforms and Infrastructures of Political Populism in Belarus in the 2020s (pp. 17-23) 

Miriam Sokalski: The Emotional Identity: How auto-affirmative Identity Politics evokes feelings of self-esteem and worthiness (pp. 24-48) 

Anna Sosnovskaya: Antagonism of cultural heritage preservation discourses in St. Petersburg (pp. 49-60) 

This volume hosts fifteen papers that bring together theoretical, case-based and thematic perspectives on populism, polarisation and emotions. It features proposals for theoretical and methodological innovations, as well as national and regional insights from Brazil, Finland, Germany, India, Italy, Romania and Turkey. In collecting these papers for publication, while aiming for a diversity of topics and regions, we were excited to find such strong interconnections between papers that were consistent with the themes of interest for us at the HEPPsinki research group. These include the following links between polarisation and negative/positive emotions, the context of populism formation and the role played by media in the process, country-specific contemporary and historical explorations and, importantly, the political effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and its (mis-)management. 

Table of content:

Laura-Elena Sibinescu: Introduction (pp. 1-3) 

P. Muhammed Afzal: “We are Doing Better”: Local Pride, Collective Identity, and the Question of Populism in Kerala (pp. 4-8) 

Ahmad Bostani: A Phenomenological Approach to Populism and Imagination (pp. 9-15) 

Furkan Çay & Murat Deregözü: The Early Turkish Populism (pp. 16-21) 

Ybiskay González: Political Polarisation: A Revisited Concept (pp. 22-29) 

Andreea-Roxana Gușă: Corruption as a rhetorical strategy of the populist parties. Case study: The 2020 electoral campaign for the Romanian Parliament of The Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (pp. 30-38) 

Martina Insero: Affective dimension of Political Polarization. The role of Empathy (pp. 39-47) 

Daniel Keil: Covid-19, the Crisis of the European Union, and the heterogeneous Far-Right in Europe – The importance of the Far Right’s Imagination of Europe before and after the Covid-Crisis (pp. 47-60) 

Minna-Kerttu Kekki: Learning by media-based public debate as increasing or decreasing polarization (pp. 61-69) 

Eliana Regina Lopes Loureiro: Fake news, populism, polarisation, and emotions in Brazil COVID-19 narratives (pp. 70-80) 

Marcela Lins: For a Genealogy of Suspension: Biopolitics and Health Crises in Brazil in Three Moments (pp. 81-89) 

Dario Mazzola: Populism and the Radicalization of Democracy. The Frontiers of Democratization (pp. 90-98) 

Saija Räsänen: Polarizing media populism during government crises in Finland and in Italy (pp. 99-110) 

Patrick Sawyer: Populism and Conspiracy Theories (pp. 111-123) 

Sergio Schargel: A Brazil of two Brazils: How populism and fascism enlightens integralism and Bolsonarism (pp. 124-132) 

Sophie Schmalenberger: Far-Right Populism as Affective Dissent (pp. 133-143