The Impact of Populism on European Institutions and Civil Society

What is the impact of populism on the EU? How did the EU institutions and civil society react to the recent rise of populist parties? To answer such relevant questions and understand populism in terms of ideas, political outcomes, and social dynamics, academia needs to engage with institutional actors, civil society organizations, and policy makers. By bringing together academics, members of European institutions and agencies, and leaders of civil society organizations, this edited volume bridges the gap between research and practice. It explores how populism impacted on European institutions and civil society and investigates their reactions and strategies to overcome the challenges posed by populists. This collection is organized into three main sections, i.e., general European governance; European Parliament and Commission; European organized civil society. Overall, the volume unveils how the populist threat was perceived within the EU institutions and NGOs and discusses the strategies they devised to react and how these were implemented in institutional and public communication.

Carlo Ruzza is Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Trento, Italy. He has widely published on radical right populist parties and political movements in southern Europe, particularly in Italy, and on civil society advocacy roles. His current research interests focus on civil society organisations specialising in anti-discrimination and human rights policy at the EU level and the impact of populism on EU institutions.

Carlo Berti is Research Fellow at the School of International Studies, University of Trento, Italy. He holds a PhD in Communication Studies from Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. His current research focuses on populism and anti-populism in the European Union. His work has been published in international journals such as Journalism Studies and Media, Culture & Society.

Paolo Cossarini is Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Culture and Learning, Aalborg University, Denmark. His research focuses on populism and nationalism, Italian and Spanish politics, protest movements, and civil society organisations. He is co-editor of Populism and Passions. Democratic Legitimacy after Austerity (2019).