Populism/antipopulism, populisms and the Radical Right

This research group focuses on the analysis of the causes and consequences of the emergence ad consolidation of populist parties and movements (on the Left and on the Right) , which strongly increase their in Europe and beyond in the last two decades. Economic, political and cultural/ migration dimensions of the phenomenon, as well as the micro-meso and macro analytical levels, are addressed, with a combination of qualitative and quantitative research techniques. Constructivist and cultural approaches are combined with structuralist approaches in the understanding of the phenomenon. Particular attention is given to the diffusion and electoral/ political and social penetration of the radical right in comparative perspective (European and beyond), with a special focus with the relationship between the radical right and the Internet.

Projects:

1. 2023-2026 CIDAPE  ‘Climate, Inequality, and Democratic Action: The Force of Political Emotions’,   HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-04, Principal investigator.
2. 2022-2025 AUTHLIB ‘Neo –Authoritarianisms in Europe and the liberal democratic response’,   Principal investigator.
3. 2.2022-2024 ‘Democratic Challenges, Social sustainability and Gender inequalities’, Programma congiunto  PRO3 (DM n. 289/2021), principal investigator/project coordinator.
4. 2021-2022 ‘Tackling illiberal narratives and Euroscepticism from below’, Europe for Citizens Program (number: 625696-CITIZ-1-2020-1-MK-CITIZ-CIV), principal investigator.

Presented papers:

• paper su movimenti di estrema destra ed Europa/europeizzazione; reticoli di estrema destra online; transnazionalizzazione della estrema destra; movimenti anti gender; discorsi d’odio e social media presentati alla:

(a) conferenza annuale della società italiana di scienza politica (section social movements and section political communication), september 2020-2023

(b) conferenza ECPR (European Consortium of Political Science, Summer 2021-2023);

Panel chaired:

by Manuela Caiani, Enrico Padoan & Karlo Kralj at the ECPR conference 2020-2023, ESA Conference 2020, Conferenza CES (Società Europea Studi Europei) and 2022.

Workshops and conferences:

• meeting semestrali di ricerca con i partners del progetto PIE (si veda sopra),  in Italia (SNS), Ungheria, Svezia e Austria (2020-2023)

Scientific consultancy, participation in scientific committee, third mission: 

• 2020-present SPIRIT Evaluation Commission, Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)  
• 2021-2023 Convenor dello  Standing Group “Movimenti Sociali e Partecipazione Politica”, della SISP, società Italiana di scienza politica ,  coordinato da Manuela Caiani
• Ciclo di seminari  OCIS (osservatorio per la coesione e inclusione sociale), per tutto il corso del 2023, organizzati da Manuela Caiani , Ocis in collaborazione con SNS

Lectures:

• Lezioni Caiani per la Normale a Scuola (destra, destra ed internet, populismi in Europa, hate speeches, anti gender)= 1 lezione al mese
• Due crash courses (4 h l’uno), su Social network analysis e visual analysis, offerti alla SNS, Spring 2021

Recent publications:

• Manuela Caiani & Balša Lubarda (2023) Conditional environmentalism of right-wing populism in power: ideology and/or opportunities?, Environmental Politics, DOI: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09644016.2023.2242749
• Caiani, M. et all. (2023) Challengers or the Establishment? How Populists Talk About Populists, German Politics, DOI: 10.1080/09644008.2023.2207014
• Caiani, M., & Di Cocco, J. (2023). Populism and emotions: A comparative study using Machine Learning. Italian Political Science Review / Rivista Italiana Di Scienza Politica, 1-16. DOI:10.1017/ipo.2023.8
• Caiani, M. (2023). Framing and social movements. Discourse Studies, 25(2), 195–209.
• Manuela Caiani and Enrico Padoan (2023), Populism and (Pop) Music, Palgrave

Research infrastructures:

• software per l’analisi qualitativa del contenuto (MaxqDA),
• software per la social network analysis (UCINET)
• software per l’analisi emozionale del contenuto (ACASM)
• software di statistica sociale SPSS