New Leverhulme Research Project Grant to explore left-wing populism in an Age of Anti-Politics

Senior Lecturer, Dr Bice Maiguashca is co-investigator on a new Leverhulme Research Project Grant to explore left-wing populism in an Age of Anti-Politicsthis project.  Dr Maiguashca will work with Dr Jonathan Dean, the PI, at University of Leeds. The project is due to run for 2 years from 1 September.

Left-wing populism is a significant trend in European politics, yet it is largely overlooked in academic studies of populism. Against this backdrop, the project has three aims.

First, they will seek to carry-out an in-depth empirical investigation of left-wing populism in contemporary Britain in two social domains: (a) left political parties (the Greens and the Labour Party) and (b) left-wing ‘celebrity activism’ (reflected in the practices/discourses of left-wing media personalities e.g. Owen Jones, Russel Brand, Laurie Penny, Charlotte Church).

Second, they aim to critically interrogate the politics of left-wing populism by mapping the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, particularly around gender and race, that shape and sustain it.

Finally, they wish to contribute to prevailing theoretical debates about populism by offering a more robust, complex and nuanced conceptualisation of this phenomenon.