Abstract
This critical introduction to contemporary political populism written by Professor Juha Herkman sheds a new light on the normative perception of populism. In five principal chapters and a conclusion asking ‘Populism after the pandemic and Trump?’ Herkman provides historical, theoretical, and his own perceptions of populism and its definitions. Chapter 1 answers ‘What is populism?’ by presenting different theoretical approaches and their intertextual interactions with a focus on ideology, political style, political movements, and political identification. In Chapter 2, a comprehensive overview of the history of populism is given dating back to the 1870s, beginning with Tsarist Russia's Norodniks. Herkman categorises the history into four different parts ‘(1) agrarian populism, (2) authoritarian populism, (3) politician's populism and (4) new populism’ (p. 37). He argues that ‘populism has existed for as long as there has been politics’ (p. 36), and uses tables and contextual political references to highlight the different forms of populism and their main ideologies. The following chapter, ‘Populism and democracy’, focuses on the complex relationship between democracies and populism, including the history of democracy and etymological derivation and connection between populism and democracy. Here, Herkman effectively outlines the interactions between the different types of democracies and the way populism is intertwined within them and also draws on theoretical frameworks discussed in chapter 1. The subsequent chapter on the relationship between populism and media discusses how their connections throughout history ‘highlight the changes that have taken place in the field of political communication,’ and involve the historical analysis of mediatisation and mediatisation theory of politics. Particular interest is drawn to the case studies of the Brexit campaign and social media's involvement and Donald Trump's presidential victory and the ways social media were utilised. Herman argues that ‘Instead of utopias, the social media have become part of the reality of political communication and mobilisation, where all means are taken to promote a political message – for better or worse’ (p. 86). The final chapter ‘Three perspectives on populism’, outlines three frameworks to broaden the context in which modern populism has gained popularity: welfare state, globalisation and interestingly, postmodernism. In the concluding chapter, Herkman addresses the potential for populism's future in the context of Donald Trump. This book is an excellent reading for students and scholars who are interested in learning about populism with limited prior knowledge. Herkman's text is well organised with varied material and perspectives as well as explicitly acknowledged bias and relevant modern political contexts.