Rising political participation: popular or populist?

by PhD Student, Vangelis Georgas “They call us populists. We are proud of that, and angry too.” Beppe Grillo, 5 Star Movement’s demonstration in Genoa, December 2013 The 2008 financial crisis and the austerity that is implemented as a policy reaction to it has inaugurated a new era of contention and of increased pressure from below. This is evident not only in developing countries, but also in many developed and prosperous countries of the West. In most cases discontent takes the form of resentment against elites, political and economic. It is expressed mainly through voting for anti-systemic political parties, and through participation in movements, which once again focus on materialist issues, until recently thought to have been irrevocably resolved in the developed countries of the world.