Abstract :
[en] The post-2008 years saw the emergence of a new phenomenon in Europe, more specifically on its Mediterranean shore: left populism. However, the historical and geographical scope of left populism, the content and limits of which are subject to debate, goes much beyond contemporary European politics. Most often explicitly linked to the theoretical tradition led by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, which analyses the formation of collective identities in a post-Marxist perspective, left populism draws on a long-lasting Latin-American tradition.
These political experiences and their theoretical sources of inspiration have been subject to criticisms coming mainly from liberals and certain sensibilities of the left (Marxists and libertarians). Leaving aside the question of their relevance, the critical gesture from which they proceed is essential at a time when the electoral cycle opened by the Great recession of 2008 seems to be on the wane, thereby inviting the left-wing populist party-movements to take stock. However, in so doing, we must avoid the two symmetrical pitfalls that plague the abundant literature devoted to left-wing populism: on the one hand, approaches that equate populism with a "threat" or a "pathology"; on the other hand, approaches that see left-wing populism as the “silver bullet” to the strategic challenges and dead ends the left is currently facing.
The achievements of these political experiences are indeed mixed. After the initial successes and the spectacular irruption in their national political game (leading to concrete strategic advances and policy achievements), these movements have experienced quite similar trajectories: electoral defeats or stagnation, internal dissent sometimes leading to a split, discursive shift, uneasy implementation of their political project once in power. The European left populist “wave” of the 2010s, much like its Latin American counterpart of the 2000s, seems to be facing external constraints and internal contradictions that hamper its progress.
In order to scrutinize this left populist lifecycle on the Old Continent, without falling into the usual pitfalls of populism studies (eurocentrism, ahistoricism, therapeutic temptation, etc.), three complementary approaches must be combined on equal foot: historical genealogy, theoretical reflection and empirical study. This special issue of the Populism journal aims at providing an inventory, as complete as possible, of the knowledge, debates, and research perspectives on the left populist cycle opened in Europe in the wake of the Great Recession. Contributions coming from various disciplines (sociology, political science, history, philosophy, anthropology) are welcome, as well as comparative approaches including extra-European cases, whether of historical or contemporary nature.
