Abstract
This first Debates issue of 2019 is devoted to populism, a veritable “spectre hunting global politics,” as Barry Cannon writes echoing Marx and Engels (Cannon, 2017). In the midst of social polarization, growing economic inequality, and political earthquakes like Brexit, populism is both the object of intense public discussion and a highly contested notion. Whether or not populism is “the concept that defines our age” (Mudde, 2018), as the political scientist Cas Mudde has claimed, the term seems to be here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.
We are therefore delighted to have brought together here four scholars working at the forefront of the study of populism. The three contributions to this issue address some of the many important theoretical, empirical and political debates surrounding this subject. Carlos de la Torre (Kentucky) criticizes the idea that populism could offer a way forward for the left. Timothy M. Gill (North Carolina) compares the politics and policies of two figures commonly associated with the notion of populism, but which stand at opposing sides of the political spectrum: Hugo Chávez and Donald Trump. In turn, Patricia Rangel (Sao Paulo) and Eneida Vinhaes (Brasilia) offer a timely analysis of political discourses and policy proposals during the 2018 presidential elections in Brazil, whose results sent shock waves throughout the world. We thank the authors for their thoughtful comments.
This is also the first issue where I have the opportunity to serve as editor of the Irish Journal of Sociology’s (IJS) Debates Section. I would like to thank Mathew Creighton, Thomas Grund, Aogán Mulcahy, and Sara O’Sullivan for the opportunity to join the journal’s team. The Debates section aims to encourage sociologically informed conversations about questions of public interest, as well as intellectual exchanges within the discipline. With these aims in mind, in the coming issues we will publish opinion pieces, essays, and round-table discussions, while also welcoming responses to articles published in the journal. In keeping with the spirit of the IJS, we will aim to address both local and international questions, as well as a plurality of approaches to doing sociology. We would like to make this a forum that is open for intellectual inquiry within and beyond Ireland. For this, we depend on our readers and contributors. Please join us in either of these roles, and help us make this a space where good ideas can thrive.
Happy reading!