Left Populism in Europe: Syriza, Podemos and Beyond

- Blurb -

Is there such a thing as `left populism' or is it just a fancy term for new parties that gain popularity? Who are the `people' and how can they challenge the `establishment'? Does the rise of Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain signal a new type of `left' and can this left reverse the `politics as usual' logic that led us to the 2008 financial crisis? Having gone through a rollercoaster of emotions, from the political ecstasy of the Movement of the Squares- Indignados in Greece and in Spain in 2011 and the optimism that followed the results of the Greek national elections, to the anger and distress at the negotiations between Greece and the EU, to the total despair at the election of Donald Trump in the US, it is now time to critically reflect on the story of the populist left.Drawing on her studies of populism over the past fifteen years, Marina Prentoulis argues that the possibility of an inclusive, democratic populism is not only the consequence of national, electoral politics but also grassroots activism and transnational political conjunctures. A critical assessment of the challenges and possibilities that confront the left is key to shaping our vision for a new type of politics.