State-Sponsored activism: bureaucrats and social movements in democratic Brazil

Abstract

book avoids the terms ‘right-wing’ and ‘left-wing’ populism. Instead, it labels negative types of populism as ‘exclusive’, ‘nativist’, or ‘disruptive’, while positive forms of populism as ‘inclusive’ or ‘constructive’. However, most case studies illustrate only the negative types and effects of populism, most notably, polarization and undermining institutions of the civil sphere. This is well explained in the case of Erdogan (Chapter 3), Kaczynski (Chapter 5), or the Sweden Democrats (chapter 8). Civil repair appears only as a reaction to populism. Binder argues in Chapter 7 that the rise of the AfD in Germany triggered a response from civil society organizations and gave impetus to the Green Party, resulting in the strengthening of civil solidarity. Botello introduces a similar case in Mexico, where civil repair is also the result of reactions and resistance to the populist endeavor, albeit a left-wing one. A few undoubtedly positive examples would have given stronger support to the theoretical claims. In addition to the fact that it is easier to find negative examples, the problem seems to be that differentiating between positive and negative populism is not always easy. The Commentary, a short chapter before the Conclusion, tries to provide some help to overcome this problem. Tognato argues that differentiation is difficult because negative populism uses the language of civil solidarity (civil mimicry), and both types of populism use similar tactics, such as appropriation, or re-framing (inverting) the civil and non-civil. Tognato concludes, that differentiating between the two types of populism is a task for a civil cultural critique of populism. Overall, the book is highly informative and thought-provoking for readers of cultural sociology, students of political sociology, and discourse analysis, whether they are interested in populism, or the broader topic of political discourses. The attempt to tie case studies to the CST is beneficial, although future research would benefit from applying the CST in crosscountry comparisons.