Populism Talks

Interview by Selcuk Gultasli

Defeating competitive authoritarianism requires more than populist backlash—it demands rebuilding institutional pluralism. In this episode, political scientist Professor Nebojša Vladisavljević joins host Selcuk Gultasli to unpack the post-election landscape in Serbia. Vladisavljević explains why the student movement represents an inclusive civic alternative rather than exclusionary populism, how Vučić's clientelism ultimately unraveled, and what it takes to transform a horizontal protest into functioning representative governance.

Here is our interview with Professor Nebojša Vladisavljević, edited lightly to enhance clarity, readability, and overall flow for publication: https://www.populismstudies.org/prof-...

Interview by Selcuk Gultasli

India is witnessing a significant wave of youth-led protests challenging unemployment, educational injustice, and the erosion of democratic accountability. The emerging Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has expanded its mobilization from examination irregularities to contested electoral-roll revisions, raising fundamental questions about political representation, citizenship, and the resilience of democracy under Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.

In an interview with the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS), Professor Mukulika Banerjee, Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, offers a critical assessment of India’s democratic trajectory. Drawing on her influential scholarship on electoral participation, everyday citizenship, democratic culture, and the social foundations of political life, she examines how controversies surrounding electoral integrity threaten the principles of political equality and inclusive citizenship.

At the heart of Professor Banerjee’s analysis is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and reports of approximately 130 million deletions. Describing the controversy as “the biggest assault on India’s electoral system that independent India has seen,” she warns that the country’s historically inclusive electoral framework risks becoming an instrument of political exclusion. According to Professor Banerjee, the reported deletions have disproportionately affected Muslims, Dalits, indigenous communities, women, and other socially disadvantaged groups.

For Professor Banerjee, the consequences extend far beyond electoral competition. India’s democratic achievement has rested on the equalizing power of the ballot, particularly for citizens experiencing profound socioeconomic hierarchies. As she explains, “This equalizing power of the vote, of political equality, which is a very basic democratic right, is highly valued in India.” She cautions that electoral-roll revisions could undermine precisely this foundation of citizenship, transforming the right to vote from a universal democratic entitlement into a mechanism of selective political inclusion.

The interview also explores the emergence of student-led resistance as a potential counterweight to institutional democratic backsliding. Professor Banerjee argues that young protesters have challenged a pervasive climate of intimidation while bringing opposition parties, farmers’ unions, and civil society organizations together around electoral integrity. Their mobilization, she suggests, demonstrates that “in order to live in a democracy, you have to be an active citizen.”

Beyond India, Professor Banerjee situates these developments within broader debates over authoritarian populism, crony capitalism, Hindu majoritarianism, and transnational democratic resistance. Her analysis connects electoral exclusion to economic inequality and the erosion of institutional accountability.

Ultimately, Professor Banerjee’s warning is also a call for sustained democratic engagement. Drawing on her metaphor of democracy as a plant requiring constant care, she concludes: “In order to cultivate democracy, you need vigilance, you need patience, you need hard work, and you need hope.”

Here is our interview with Professor Mukulika Banerjee, edited lightly to enhance clarity, readability, and overall flow for publication: https://www.populismstudies.org/prof-...

Interview by Selcuk Gultasli

How did a student movement born from collective grief over the Novi Sad railway tragedy end 14 years of Aleksandar Vučić’s rule? Host Selcuk Gultasli speaks with Dr. Filip Balunović (University of Belgrade) about Serbia's stunning electoral earthquake. They explore how non-violent civic mobilization turned grief into joy, bypassed traditional opposition traps, and proved that anti-authoritarian alternatives can win through grassroots solidarity.i

Here is our interview with Dr. Filip Balunović, edited lightly to enhance clarity, readability, and overall flow for publication: https://www.populismstudies.org/dr-ba...

Interview by Selcuk Gultasli

Lula da Silva secured a historic fourth term in Brazil's tense October 25 presidential runoff, but razor-thin margins prove Bolsonarismo is here to stay. Host Selcuk Gultasli speaks with Brown University Professor Emeritus James N. Green about the structural roots of Brazilian polarization, congressional obstruction threats, and why defeating far-right populism electorally does not mean defeating its underlying movement.

Here is our interview with Professor James N. Green, edited lightly to enhance clarity, readability, and overall flow for publication: https://www.populismstudies.org/prof-...

Interview by Selcuk Gultasl

Following Israel’s fragmented October 27 elections, could prolonged political gridlock empower the populist radical right? Host Selcuk Gultasli speaks with University of Essex Assistant Professor Roi Zur. They examine how Benjamin Netanyahu transformed Likud into a European-style radical-right party, the normalization of religious-nationalist extremism, and emerging allegations of electoral illegitimacy.

Here is our interview with Assistant Professor Roi Zur, edited lightly to enhance clarity, readability, and overall flow for publication: https://www.populismstudies.org/dr-zu...

Interview by Selcuk Gultasli

India’s emerging youth revolt is exposing the fragility of Narendra Modi’s authoritarian-populist hegemony, challenging not only the government’s developmental promises but also its construction of political legitimacy, popular sovereignty, and Hindu majoritarian identity. In an in-depth interview with the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS), Dr. Subir Sinha, Reader in the Theory and Politics of Development, Director of the SOAS South Asia Institute, member of the SOAS Food Studies Centre, and affiliate of the Department of History at SOAS University of London, examines how generational discontent is developing into a potentially transformative counter-hegemonic movement.

Across India, Senegal, Bangladesh, Serbia, Nepal, and France, youth-led protests have challenged corruption, economic insecurity, political exclusion, and established structures of power. Our discussion examines India’s emerging Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement within this comparative framework, exploring why similar generational grievances produce different forms of mobilization, institutional responses, and democratic outcomes. Dr. Sinha’s scholarship on authoritarian populism, political hegemony, and social movements provides valuable insights into these dynamics.

At the center of Dr. Sinha’s analysis is the argument that unemployment, educational injustice, and democratic exclusion have generated a profound crisis of political representation. Observing that Modi’s strategies to absorb popular discontent into authoritarian populism have begun to unravel, he identifies the CJP as potentially “the central mechanism through which a counter-people is being imagined and manifested on the streets.”

This emerging counter-people challenges the ideological foundations of Modiism. Dr. Sinha argues that young protesters are dismantling Modi’s conception of “the people,” creating space for Dalits, Muslims, and economically marginalized citizens within a more inclusive political imagination. Digital mobilization has proved particularly disruptive. According to Dr. Sinha, “the social media game that the BJP had mastered” has slipped from its control, while “the image of a feared and revered leader” has been broken.

State repression, meanwhile, risks further undermining the government’s legitimacy. Dr. Sinha describes how police violence and vigilante attacks have alienated even some longstanding BJP supporters, exposing tensions between coercive authority and democratic consent.

The interview also explores a striking cultural contradiction: Dr. Sinha observes “an increasing feeling that Hinduism is in danger from Hindutva,” suggesting that dissatisfaction with religious majoritarianism may extend beyond conventional opposition constituencies.

Ultimately, Dr. Sinha distinguishes between temporary institutional concessions and enduring structural transformation. Drawing comparative lessons from youth movements worldwide, he argues that meaningful change requires converting popular mobilization into legislative power. The decisive question is whether India’s fragmented movements can construct an inclusive counter-people capable of translating resistance into lasting democratic change.

Here is our interview with Dr. Subir Sinha, edited lightly to enhance clarity, readability, and overall flow for publication: https://www.populismstudies.org/dr-si...

Moderated by Professor Lane Kenworthy, this ECPS panel report brings together leading political scientists and historians to analyze democratic resilience, right-wing populism, and progressive alternatives in the US.

Key panel contributions:

• Professor Lane Kenworthy (UCSD): Setting the global comparative context between American midterms and populist governance in Hungary, Poland, and Brazil.

• Professor Michael Kazin (Georgetown): Tracing the socialist revival from the Great Recession and Bernie Sanders to modern social-democratic policy.

• Professor Sheri Berman (Columbia): Examining declining support for Trumpism alongside economic dissatisfaction and comparative European far-right trends.

• Professor Jennifer McCoy (Georgia State): Addressing pernicious polarization, institutional trust, and why electoral shifts alone won't fix structural grievances.

• Professor Andrew Karch (Univ. of Minnesota): Unpacking federalism, state legislative battles, redistricting, and decentralized electoral administration.

• Host/Organization: European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS)

• Key Themes: 2026 US Midterms, Democratic Resilience, Democratic Socialism, Pernicious Polarization, Partisan Federalism, Right-Wing Populism.

To read the full synthesis detailing how struggles over institutional legitimacy, federalism, and progressive political economy intersect ahead of the midterms, read the complete ECPS Panel Report on Trumpism, Democratic Resilience, and Democratic Socialism.

Interview by Selcuk Gultasli

Can American democracy survive when the political rights of marginalized communities are actively rolled back? Host Selcuk Gultasli speaks with Johns Hopkins Professor Lester Spence about the 2026 midterms and racialized political economy. Professor Spence explains why racial politics are central to democratic backsliding, how weakening the Voting Rights Act threatens protections for everyone, and why real transformation requires building new models rather than just winning elections.

Here is our interview with Professor Lester Spence, edited lightly to enhance clarity, readability, and overall flow for publication: https://www.populismstudies.org/prof-...

Interview by Selcuk Gultasli

Can liberal democracy survive restrictions on the very freedoms that sustain it? Host Selcuk Gultasli interviews free speech scholar Professor Jacob Mchangama (Vanderbilt University / The Future of Free Speech). They discuss why liberal institutions adopt illiberal censorship against populism, the historical lessons of Weimar Germany's emergency powers, why government control of Big Tech is "a cure worse than the disease," and how user empowerment can replace AI gatekeeping.

Here is our interview with Professor Jacob Mchangama, edited lightly to enhance clarity, readability, and overall flow for publication: https://www.populismstudies.org/prof-...

Interview by Selcuk Gultasli

Could another Netanyahu coalition spell the end of liberal democracy in Israel? Host Selcuk Gultasli interviews constitutional scholar Professor Yaniv Roznai (Reichman University / Princeton University). They examine the existential threat of brain drain and democratic backsliding, why Israel’s political opposition mirrors Poland’s fragile coalition rather than Hungary’s single-party model, and why removing Netanyahu is only step one toward constitutional renewal.

Here is our interview with Professor Yaniv Roznai, edited lightly to enhance clarity, readability, and overall flow for publication: https://www.populismstudies.org/prof-...