On September 9th, UC Berkeley political science professor and Center for British Studies director Mark Bevir hosted a British Studies Workshop on “The Governmentality of Populism.” The event featured eight scholars from several European universities who presented and discussed recent papers on this topic. Two of the papers discussed were “Reactionary Governmentality” by Nicholas Michelsen from King’s College London (KCL), UK, and “The Gendered Chronopolitics of Authoritarian Populism” by Mareike Gebhardt from The University of Münster, Germany.
Michelsen’s paper, co-authored with his KCL colleague Pablo de Orellana, focuses on a socially conservative, global political movement he terms the New Right, and how it is shaped by apocalypticism. The authors argue that the perceived threat of collapse has made the rise of the New Right one of the most powerful responses to the crises of post-modernity. During his presentation, Michelsen explained that he avoids using the term “populism” because it downplays the substantive scope of these reactionary movements. He also explored how “Birth-Cultural” movements like the New Right in Europe and the United States share ideological roots with mainstream neoliberalism. This connection, he suggested, is linked to apocalypticism and raises the question of whether appeals to an impending crisis can unite political actors with divergent beliefs. Michelsen then outlined common traits of New Right movements, such as social conservatism, cultural nationalism, and a sense of being held back by external forces. He also identified their opposition to Chicago School supply-side economics as ultimately stemming from left-wing thought.
Gebhardt’s paper, “The Gendered Chronopolitics of Authoritarian Populism,” examines the interplay between populism, authoritarian movements like the current Italian government, and female leadership, exemplified by Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Given Italy’s current government, which is arguably the most right-wing since World War II, it is particularly striking that this movement is led by a woman. In her analysis, Gebhardt investigates the role of gender and temporal factors, along with questions of narrative coherence and the hierarchical structure of these movements. She emphasized that understanding gender in this context requires considering not just nationality but also race. She also highlighted how female leaders in historically male-dominated spheres often need to conform to social conservatism by reinforcing traditional gender roles. Gebhardt concluded her presentation by discussing influences on her theory, such as Umberto Eco and Stuart Hall, and acknowledged that her findings on the relationship between gender and the roots of populism remain inconclusive.
Both lectures sparked comments and a discussion among the participants, leading to a debate on the use of the term “populism” and Italy’s current political landscape.
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