“The People”, in M. Bevir (ed.), Encyclopedia of Political Theory, Los Angeles, 2010, III, 1021–5. (original) (raw)
Related papers
Political Theory, 2015
Contemporary political theory has made the question of the “people” a topic of sustained analysis. This article identifies two broad approaches taken—norm-based and contestation-based—and, noting some problems left outstanding, goes on to advance a complementary account centred on partisan practice. It suggests the definition of “the people” is closely bound up in the analysis of political conflict, and that partisans engaged in such conflict play an essential role in constructing and contesting different principled conceptions. The article goes on to show how such an account does not lead to a normatively hollow, purely historical conception of “the people,” but rather highlights the normative importance of practices that, at the minimum, de-naturalise undesirable conceptions of the people and, at their best, give political legitimacy and a representative basis to those one might wish to see prosper.
"The People" in Nationalism, Populism, and Popular Culture
Encyclopedia of New Populism and Responses in the 21st Century, 2023
From political modernity to post-pandemic times, notion of "the people" and "sovereignty" have traditionally dominated political discourse. They appear in right-wing and nationalist discourses, leftist and socialist repertories as well as representations of popular culture. As such, their omnipresence has led many experts to claim that either everything is populist or the category of populism is no useful at all, and that we should perhaps use the term popular not populist. This entry objects these claims, arguing that it is a different logic that interpellates "the people" of nationalism, populism, and popular culture.
Nordicom Review
One of the cornerstones of right-wing populist websites is their challenge to traditional mainstream media to give voice to “the people”. In Finland, one of the best known of these websites is MV-lehti [WTF-Magazine], which claims to exist for this reason. In this article, I investigate how MV-lehti constructs the people, in particular in texts about refugees. I approach the research data by using the concepts of right-wing populist rhetoric. The results show that, in MV-lehti, the people is a constructed and politicised concept reflecting ideas of ethnonationalism and antidemocratic values, illustrating the connection between uncivility, racism, and populism.
This article develops the concept of affinity as one means available in understanding how citizens make, or fail to make, connections with politics and politicians. It is argued that the disappearance of class from much political discourse has led to more emotional ways of relating to politics. We claim that the reflexivity involved in political deliberation must take account of people’s emotional responses to the political. We argue that one key element in these emotional responses is a feeling, or lack of feeling, of affinity. We propose that citizens often use feelings of likeness in their (dis)engagement with politicians, policies and parties. Understanding the emotional aspects of political (dis)engagement in this way is crucial in dealing with concerns about widespread disengagement from, and dissatisfaction with, electoral politics.