Theorizing the Rise of Right-Wing Populism in the Post-Globalist Era: Toward an Integrative Approach

Lawrence J. Saha, Australian National University

S A HamedHosseini, University of Newcastle

In this paper, we will present a critical review of the contemporary academic literature regarding the social nature and nurture of Rightwing Populism (RWP) as a macro-sociohistorical phenomenon. The main aim of this review is to address the existing theoretical shortcomings in sociological contributions to global studies, by highlighting the theoretical inconsistencies and gaps, in the literature, that distorts the potentials for constructing conceptual frameworks necessary to theorize the rise of new RWP in the new century. The review is structured around three main aspects of the phenomenon: (1) its social nature as a socio-historical phenomenon; (2) its social basis; and finally (3) the social mechanism and contextual factors that have given a global rise to RWP as a socio-political movement; a global network of movements that ironically defy globalism. Then we will discuss the possibility of developing a transformative sociological account with the capacity to be integrated with social psychological and psychological accounts. This paper will then be part of a series written by these authors that ultimately aims to facilitate the development of a macro-micro integrative framework for theorizing the subject.