Populism and Borders. Theoretical Reflections and Empirical Insights

Right-wing populist parties are gaining more and more salience and visibility within the Western European political landscape. At the same time, these parties strongly mobilize borders to defend their national (and subnational) territories and sovereignty. Hitherto, however, the concepts of populism and borders tend to follow separate paths in current research. This international academic symposium aims to gather scholars from different perspectives to theoretically, empirically, and heuristically reflect on their reciprocal linkages. From linguistics to political science, political communication, political geography, and border studies, this symposium will shed light on how to interdisciplinary tackle populism and borders to better confront the ongoing social, political, economic, and cultural realities and capture the complexity of contemporary borders through multiple perspectives.