Introduction: The sceptre and the spectre

Daniele Albertazzi*, Duncan McDonnell

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingForeword/postscript

113 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Ghiţa Ionescu and Ernest Gellner (1969: 1) began their classic edited collection on populism by paraphrasing Marx and Engel’s famous opening line: ‘A Spectre is haunting the world — populism’. However, it was not quite the entire world that was being haunted in the late 1960s. Looking through the case studies in Ionescu and Gellner’s book, we find chapters on North America, Latin America, Russia, Eastern Europe and Africa, but nothing on that part of the world in which most of the contributors lived and worked: Western Europe. By contrast, the present volume focuses exclusively on that area. This reflects the fact that while the likes of Ross Perot in the United States, Preston Manning in Canada and Pauline Hanson in Australia have all attracted sporadic attention as new populist leaders, the main area of sustained populist growth and success over the last fifteen years in established democracies has been Western Europe.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationTwenty-First Century Populism
Subtitle of host publicationThe Spectre of Western European Democracy
EditorsDaniele Albertazzi, Duncan McDonnell
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Pages1-11
Number of pages11
ISBN (Electronic)9780230592100
ISBN (Print)9780230013490
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Dec 2007

Keywords

  • Charismatic Leader
  • Electoral Success
  • Populist Parti
  • Country Case Study
  • Make Democracy Work

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Social Sciences

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