2025/06/17 by Thomás Zicman de Barros, Théo Aiolfi · 2 voices · 2 citations
Social Sciences · #Populism, Right-Wing Movements #Communism, Protests, Social Movements #Eastern European Communism and Reforms
paper · doi:10.1080/14782804.2025.2520245
This article contributes to current debates on left-wing populism in Europe by addressing the strategic tensions between patriotic discourse and so-called ‘identity’ agendas. It does so by examining the split between François Ruffin and Jean-Luc Mélenchon within La France Insoumise, identifying sovereigntist and ‘créole’ populism. Drawing on Rojas-Andrés, Mazzolini and Custodi’s analysis of the Spanish left, we challenge their view that a successful populist strategy requires a national-popular bloc eschewing ‘identity’ politics. Instead, we argue left-wing populism must integrate anti-racist and queer agendas, exemplified by Mélenchon’s appeal to Édouard Glissant’s concept of créolisation. The article is divided into three parts: first, we critique Rojas-Andrés, Mazzolini and Custodi’s sovereigntist framework and its limits in reaching purported ‘natural addressees’ of populism. Second, we develop a typology of invisibilised sectors – subalterns, precarious, and the mob – to show how potential populist constituencies are diverse and to analyse divergent strategies within LFI: while Ruffin remained tied to precarious white workers, neglecting race and gender, Mélenchon shifted to mobilise racialised subalterns in urban peripheries by addressing systemic racism and economic precarisation. Third, we examine how ‘créole’ populism redefines the ‘people’ inclusively, contesting exclusionary nationalism, revitalising radical democracy and offering universalism rooted in diversity.