Following a boom in populism research, recently more scholars have emphasised the need to also study discourses about populism. This research shows that ‘populism’ has always been predominantly used negatively, often to label and denounce political adversaries or newcomers. This shift in focus towards the discourse around populism has led to a surge of interest in the concept of ‘anti-populism’. In this presentation, I present a definition of antipopulism as a political logic. This approach allows to study the political content that is communicated through anti-populism, rather than treating anti-populism itself as an ideology or political project. This conceptualisation of anti-populism as a political logic is developed through a historical perspective on anti-populism, an analysis of the current literature on the subject, and the results of an empirical analysis of the uses of the word ‘populism’ in Belgian newspapers.
Jana Goyvaerts is a Guest Professor at the Department of Communication Studies of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). She obtained a PhD in Media and Communication Studies in 2023 with a thesis titled “We Need To Talk About How We Talk About Populism: the signifier populism and discursive struggles about democracy in the Belgian press”.
She currently teaches courses about research methodologies, both at the VUB and ULB, and on media history. Her research interests include meaning-making practices and discourse, journalism, democracy and populism.
Infos & Registrations
The event is free but registration is mandatory via this link
When ? 17/04/2025, 14:00 – 16:00
Where ? Salle des examens (2nd floor)
UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles
43, Boulevard du Jardin botanique
1000 – Bruxelles