Media, Populism and European Democracy
Summary
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Introduction (Matevž Tomšič)
- References
- Navigating the Waves of Populism: Human Dignity and Constitutional Democracy (Petra Kleindienst)
- Introduction
- Populism
- Procedural Democracy, Substantive Democracy and Constitutional Democracy
- The Meaning of Human Dignity in Democratic Settings
- The Interplay between Populism, Constitutional Democracy and Human Dignity
- Conclusion
- References
- Mass Media and the Rise of Populism (Matevž Tomšič)
- Introduction
- Populism as a Multifaceted Phenomenon
- Mass Media and Populist Appeal
- Reception of Populist Messages
- Why do Populists Succeed?
- Conclusion
- References
- Populist Central European Regionness as the Part of Anti-Western Narrative: Example of Conspiracy in Czech ‘Alternative’ Media and Discourse (Ladislav Cabada)
- Introduction
- Modalities of Visegrad and wider Central European cooperation
- Basic Contours of the Anti-Western Image of Visegrad
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- ‘Pahorism’ as an Alternative to Populism? A Case Study of Borut Pahor and the 2012 Presidential Elections (Rok Bratina)
- Introduction
- The Phenomenon of Populism
- Historical Roots
- In Search for Definition
- The Characteristics of a Charismatic Leader
- Analysis of Pahor’s Presidential Campaign 2012
- Characteristics of the Presidential Campaign
- Conclusion
- References
- Towards Journalism Culture: A Systematic Literature Review of Journalist Values in Contemporary Media (Tamara Besednjak Valič, Janja Lozar)
- Introduction
- Main Journalistic Values and Challenges in Contemporary Society
- Objectivity
- Truth and Credibility
- Press Freedom and the Challenge of Ownership Concentration in Democratic Societies
- Democracy and the Rise of Populism
- Technological Advancements and Automatisation of Journalistic Work
- Methodology
- Results
- Second-hand Stories, Fake News and Machine-written News
- Role of Journalists in Society
- Perceptions of Journalism as a Profession
- Press Freedom, the Role of the State and the Role of Media Owners
- Journalism Values
- Role of Journalism in Society
- Trust
- Conclusion
- References
- The Problem of Excessive Regulation of Media. Etatisation of Media Space? (Milan Zver)
- Introduction
- The European Media Freedom Act
- The Upcoming New Slovenian Mass Media Act
- Conclusion
- References
- Media/Digital Literacy, Access to Information and European Democracy in the Light of Information and Communication Technology Adaptation (Alenka Pandiloska Jurak)
- Introduction
- Media Literacy and Democracy
- Digital and Media Literacy Skills
- Technology Adaptation
- Methodology
- Individuals Who Have Never Used a Computer
- Macro-regional average
- Internet Use: Interaction with Public Authorities
- Macro-regional Average
- Internet Use: Submitting Completed Forms
- Macro-regional Average
- Conclusion
- References
- The Synergy of Industrial Symbiosis, Social Media, and Sustainable Development: Shaping a Circular Future (Erika Džajić Uršič)
- Introduction
- Industrial Symbiosis and Media: Catalysts for Change
- The Intersection of Data, Technology and Sustainability: Shaping the Future of Society in Urban Environments
- The Effectiveness of ‘green’ Communication on Social Media: Communicating Industrial Symbiosis
- Greenwashing
- Topics Related to Target Industrial Symbiosis
- Towards Synergies for a Symbiotic Future
- References
- Conclusion (Matevž Tomšič)
List of Figures
‘Pahorism’ as an Alternative to Populism? A Case Study of Borut Pahor and the 2012 Presidential Elections
Figure 1: Pahor as a garbage collector
Figure 2: Pahor in a TV confrontation
Figure 3: The popularity ranking of politicians in 2012
Towards Journalism Culture: A Systematic Literature Review of Journalist Values in Contemporary Media
Figure 1: The PRISMA flowchart
Media/Digital Literacy, Access to Information and European Democracy in the Light of Information and Communication Technology Adaptation
Figure 1: Individuals who have never used a computer, EU and macro-region member states, 2017
Figure 2: Individuals who have never used a computer, macro-regional average, from 2006 to 2017
Figure 3: Internet use: interaction with public authorities, EU and macro-region member states, 2021
Figure 4: Internet use: interaction with public authorities, macro-regional average, from 2008 to 2021
Figure 5: Internet use: submitting completed forms, EU and macro-region member states, 2021
Figure 6: Internet use: submitting completed forms, macro-regional average, from 2008 to 2021
List of Tables
‘Pahorism’ as an Alternative to Populism? A Case Study of Borut Pahor and the 2012 Presidential Elections
Table 1: The characteristics of left and right populism
Towards Journalism Culture: A Systematic Literature Review of Journalist Values in Contemporary Media
Table 1: Predefined categories of research discussions
Table 2: List of studies included in systematic literature review
Media/Digital Literacy, Access to Information and European Democracy in the Light of Information and Communication Technology Adaptation
Table 1: Individuals who have never used a computer, macro-regional average, from 2006 to 2017
Table 2: Individuals who have never used a computer, macro-regional growth/decline, from 2006 to 2017
Table 3: Internet use: interaction with public authorities, macro-regional average, from 2008 to 2021
Table 4: Internet use: interaction with public authorities, macro-regional growth/decline, from 2008 to 2021
Table 5: Internet use: submitting completed forms, macro-regional average, from 2008 to 2021
Table 6: Internet use: submitting completed forms, macro-regional growth/decline, from 2008 to 2021
Introduction
We often hear that Europe finds itself at a crucial point in its political future. Typically, this refers to the European Union as a distinct political entity, which is not found on other continents, as it exemplifies a multi-level governance system, with a division of powers between the Union’s institutions and its member states. Thus, for the European elections in 2024, many politicians and other opinion leaders explained that the direction of political development would largely depend on the election results. Several of them warned against the danger posed by the electoral success of political forces that could threaten the Union’s political and other stability.
This brings us to the phenomenon of populism. This one is not ‘from yesterday’. There has been considerable discussion about the rise of populist politics, which targets not only the established political elites but also the institutional structure itself, for at least two decades (see, for example, Mudde 2004, Mudde and Rovira Kaltwasser 2017, Tarchi 2016). The actual ‘alarm’ was triggered in 2016 by Donald Trump’s first victory in the presidential election in the United States of America and the referendum vote for the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union. Then things quieted as the populists seemed to be waning a bit (Trump also lost the 2020 election). However, in recent years, the successes of political leaders often characterised as populists have begun to decline again. Not only in the new members of the Union with a relatively short democratic tradition but also in countries with an established democracy at its heart—such as the Netherlands, where the right-populist, anti-migrant and anti-Islam Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders won a relative majority in the 2023 parliamentary elections (and consequently became the biggest party in the coalition government, although without its leader in the position of Prime Minister); or Austria where the similarly oriented Freedom Party of Austria received more votes than any other party at the 2024 elections (though it was unable to the form a government); and Germany, where after the 2025 elections, the far-right Alternative for Germany became the second largest party in parliament.
Before the 2024 European Parliament elections, predictions suggested that the bloc of far-right, nationalist, and populist parties would be significantly strengthened. This would lead to changes in the political relations in the parliament and, consequently, within the EU institutions. More than a few observers considered such developments problematic from the perspective of the European Union’s political future, as most of these parties are considered Eurosceptic (though the level of Euroscepticism varies among them). However, these predictions have only partially come true. There was indeed a ‘shift to the right’ as both the moderate and the radical right grew stronger. However, the three largest political groups (the centre-right European People’s Party, the centre-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and the centrist Renew Europe) have a style of a comfortable parliamentary majority. Therefore, no major political upheavals are expected.
Populism as a political phenomenon is not easily defined. We must be aware that we are dealing with a highly diverse concept. Despite its global occurrence—or perhaps because of it—it is difficult to provide a single, universally acceptable definition (Tomšič, 2023). The ambiguity of the concept is one of its main characteristics (Petri, 2023). There is no consensus within the academic community about what populism actually is. There is even less of that in political circles and among the general public, as it often adapts to political and other needs. It can be viewed from different perspectives: as a political ideology, political conduct, political strategy and a style of political communication (Tomšič 2022). Some connect it with phenomena such as the personalisation of politics, which involves strengthening the role of political leaders vis-à-vis other actors in the party system (Pappas 2016; Urbinati 2014; Cabada and Tomšič 2016; Tomšič and Prijon 2013). The manifestations of populist politics and their impact on political dynamics depend on global factors (such as the nature of global capitalism and its crises) and the specificities of national environments (for example, domestic value orientations and political traditions).1
Details
- Pages
- 216
- Publication Year
- 2026
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9783034356138
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9783034356145
- ISBN (Softcover)
- 9783034356121
- DOI
- 10.3726/b23640
- Open Access
- CC-BY
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2026 (March)
- Keywords
- Europe democracy politics media populism Matevž Tomšič
- Published
- Bruxelles, Berlin, Chennai, Lausanne, New York, Oxford, 2026. 216 pp., 6 fig. col., 4 fig. b/w, 9 tables.
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