Populism, Demagoguery, and Rhetoric in Historical Perspective

Reviews / Votes

This innovative contribution situates a modern phenomenon such as populism in a classical context: politics as a discourse aimed at persuading and winning consensus. It is a most useful read that, among other things, complements existing theories that view populism as an ideology and a power strategy. * Nadia Urbinati, Kyriakos Tsakopoulos Professor of Political Theory, Columbia University * This is a wonderful, rich, timely volume both thoughtful and thought-provoking. Leading scholars of rhetoric, populism, and of the history of political thought explore the relationship between people, speech performance, and politics - from Plato to celebrity culture - showing how the rhetorical analysis of demagoguery and democracy can help us to develop deep analyses, nuanced critiques, and balanced understandings of the challenges (and opportunities) for democracy today. * Alan Finlayson, Professor of Political & Social Theory, University of East Anglia * Here is a vital addition to the growing contemporary political theory on the ideology and disruptive politics of populism. Ballacci and Goodman's introduction provides a superb analysis of key accounts of the content of populism. But their great gift is the fourteen essays that bring out a critical, under-explored feature of populism: rhetoric and the connections between political content and form. The force of populism is inseparable from oratory and everyday speech, and the authors drill down into classical and early modern texts and history on demagoguery, as well as into cases of nineteenth and twentieth century left and right populism, examining language, form, and style. This collection is revelatory! * Nancy L. Rosenblum, Senator Joseph S. Clark Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government Emerita, Harvard University * What else can be written about populism that hasn't already been said? Very little, one would think in light of the burgeoning literature on the topic. Populism, Demagoguery, and Rhetoric in Historical Perspective proves us wrong. This volume contributes an impressive set of new insights on populism-both as a concept and as a mode of politics-by exploring the dialectics between the content of populism and its distinctive forms and styles, and by excavating the complex relationship between populism, republicanism, pluralism, demagoguery, and representation. With contributions by leading scholars in history of political thought, political theory, and rhetoric, this volume manages the virtually impossible: namely, to renew and inject much-needed nuance into a debate that seemed to have run its course. * Monica Brito Vieira, Professor of Political Theory, University of York *