Far right populist ideology, ‘Othering’ and youth

The diverse, ever-changing faces of far right populism make the task to fix it ‘mission impossible’. The chapter emphasises these ‘faces’ of far right populism that are crucial for media and education. Populism as a thin ideology explains the populist contamination and expresses its flexibility and adaptability. ‘Othering’ is at the heart of symbolic politics which makes sense out of chaos, structuring the world in a simple, clear and strong taxonomy – “Us” and “Them”. Both are ‘empty symbols’, clearly delineated to attract attention and identification, but open to be filled with different content in different political situations. The anti-elitist rhetoric is the core of protestatory-societal populism. Education and media face the challenge of deconstructing the mixture of demophily and demagogy in which anti-elitism is an elite production. The chapter contributes to the understanding of youth as a privileged target and crucial actor. The conclusion bridges with the core of the book – education, both formal and informal through art, social media and civic activism. The chapter outlines three major fields for educators to combat the radical appeals to youth: aesthetisation of political participation, heroisation of citizenship and virtualisation of political passion.

Anna Krasteva and Gabriella Lazaridis. Far right populist ideology, ‘Othering’ and youth. In: Maria Reinieri (ed). Populism, media and education. Challenging discrimination in contemporary digital societies. Routledge, 2016. http://www.tandf.net/books/details/9781138929845

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