An international colloquium on the concept of “populism” will be held on 30 and 31 May at the Argentine Foundation of the Cité Internationale universitaire de Paris, France, which will aim at broadening the dialogue and questioning the representations and practices known as “populist” on both sides of the Atlantic.
The context in the late twentieth century in Latin America of the emergence, including at the electoral level, of new forces and new political leaders and the electoral processes of the 21st century in Europe, have reintroduced the debate on populism, resulting in a renewed interest in the comparative but also conceptual analysis of this phenomenon. Although the concept of “populism” is characterized by its “universal” use, especially in the media and at the political level, it is a source of so much confusion that some authors suggest abandoning it´s use and are divided among those who see it as a useful concept for the social sciences and those who challenge it. The constant tendency to unite populism under such diverse phenomena is significant in itself and shows the difficulty of delimiting its use. As a result, the concept is used more as a fundamental political element rather than as a category of analysis. This colloquium intends to formulate, from the wide range of experiences of Latin America, a reconsideration of the concept in order to propose another – more plural and complex reading – of the relation of populism to democracy.
The colloquium will be attended by the Le Center de recherches sur les mondes Américains (CERMA), the Argentine Foundation of Paris, the Argentine Ministry of Education and Sports and the academic journal deSignis. On the part of the journal, will participate in the colloquium the researcher of the Laprec, Lucrecia Escudero, and the director of the group, Teresa Velázquez.
Check the full program.
