Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Podemos and the New Political Cycle pp 201–226Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Radical Left Populism from the Margins to the Mainstream: A Comparison of Syriza and Podemos

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

In our chapter, we focus our analysis on what we consider the two paradigmatic cases of this new left-wing populism in today’s Europe: Syriza and Podemos. We highlight their discursive strategies and ideologico-political development, as well as the transformations they have undergone since they established themselves as “key players” in the political scenes of Greece and Spain. First, we will briefly clarify our theoretical understanding and methodological approach of populist politics, drawing on the tradition of discourse theory. Second, we will chart the basic similarities and differences among the two aforementioned parties, focusing especially on the way they construct the popular subject (“the people”) and its political enemy (“the establishment,” la casta, etc.). Third, we will try to shed light on the development of these parties as they consolidated their position and came closer to power (Syriza gained power in January 2015, while Podemos has now established itself as the third major party in Spain). Overall, through this comparison we seek to offer constructive insights into the specificities and varieties of left-wing populism in today’s Europe, but also to investigate a rather under-researched aspect of this field, namely the transformation of left-wing populism as it moved from the margins of the political system to the mainstream and from there to power.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Note how Cas Mudde fails to recognize Bernie Sanders as a populist exactly on the grounds that “the main division in Sanders’ discourse is one of interests, i.e. of class struggle, not morality” (Mudde 2016).

  2. 2.

    On the notion of “post-democracy” and “post-politics,” which captures features of the Spanish “1978 regime,” but also the late metapolitefsi era in Greece, as outlined in the following, see Crouch 2004; Mouffe 2005.

  3. 3.

    Metapolitefsi is a word used in Greek to signify both the moment of the fall of the seven-year military dictatorship and the transition to democracy in 1974, but also the whole era that was initiated at that moment.

  4. 4.

    For an earlier, critical account of “technopopulism” in contemporary parties, see Lipow and Seyd 1995.

  5. 5.

    http://www.syriza.gr/page/video.html [in Greek].

References

  • Alabao, N. (2017). Historia de dos Vistalegres. ctxt n.103. Available at goo.gl/V15zqB. Accessed 3 May 2017.

  • Alemán, J. (2015, January 20). El factor Laclau en la nueva izquierda española. pagina12.com. Available at http://goo.gl/vXmNaQ. Accessed 10 June 2015.

  • Antentas J. M. (2016, June 29). El desconcierto de una noche de verano. Viento Sur. Available at http://goo.gl/rdK6Kf. Accessed 21 Jul 2016.

  • Camargo, R. (2017, February 14). Vista Alegre II: Se acaba el espectáculo, ¿comienza la política? blogs.publico.es/contraparte. Available at http://goo.gl/GWaAwc. Accessed 9 May 2017.

  • Canovan, M. (1999). Trust the people! Populism and the two faces of democracy. Political Studies, 47(1), 2–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casero-Ripollés, A., Feenstra, R. A., & Tormey, S. (2016). Old and new media logics in an electoral campaign: The case of Podemos and the two-way street mediatization of politics. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 21(3), 378–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Centro de investigaciones sociológicas (CIS) Ministerio de la Presidencia. (2015a). Barómetro de enero 2015. Estudio no. 3050. Available at http://goo.gl/vyemOU. Accessed 10 June 2015.

  • Centro de investigaciones sociológicas (CIS) Ministerio de la Presidencia. (2015b). Barómetro de abril 2015. Estudio no. 3080. Available at http://goo.gl/vyemOU. Accessed 10 June 2015.

  • Clavell, G. G. (2015). Podemos y la política de la tecnología. Teknokultura, 12(1), 111–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crouch, C. (2004). Post-democracy. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • de la Torre, Carlos. (Ed.). (2015). The promise and the perils of populism. Lexington: Kentucky University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • del Barrio, A. (2014, May 26). Los claves del éxito de Podemos: “No somos herederos del 15-M”. El mundo. Available at http://goo.gl/u7f6rh. Accessed 8 Nov 2014.

  • Delclos, C. (2014, December 9). Podemos: The political upstart taking Spain by force. RΟΑR Magazine. Available at http://goo.gl/aR9qBu. Accessed 5 Jan 2015.

  • Domínguez, A. (2014). “Nos encontramos en un momento de transición hacia otro régimen político”: Entrevista a Pablo Iglesias. In A. Domínguez & L. Giménez (Eds.), Claro que podemos: De La Tuerka a la esperanza del cambio en España (pp. 141–164). Barcelona: Los Libros del Lince.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eleftheriou, C. (2015). The Greek radical left and the crisis (2010–2015). Synchrona Themata, 130–131, 61–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Errejón Galván, I. (2014). ¿Qué es ‘Podemos’? Le Monde diplomatique en español 225. Available at http://goo.gl/snG6O7. Accessed 8 Nov 2014.

  • Espinoza Pino, M. (2014, November 18). Podemos: ¿Es la hora de la gente? madrilonia.org. Available at http://goo.gl/Npp3p2/. Accessed 5 Jan 2015.

  • Fernández, B., & López, I. (2017, April 19). Diez ideas a contracorriente sobre Vistalegre II. ctxt n.113. Available at goo.gl/tAoG9O. Accessed 4 May 2017.

  • Flesher Fominaya, C. (2014, May 29). Spain is different: Podemos and 15 M. open Democracy. Available at: https://goo.gl/cVYDiQ. Accessed 8 Nov 2014.

  • Fort Apache. (2014, November 21). Podemos y el populismο. Available at https://goo.gl/dIk1LC. Accessed 5 Jan 2015.

  • Fort Apache. (2016, July 2). Elecciones sin Sorpasso. Available at https://goo.gl/Anrgvv. Accessed 7 Jul 2016.

  • Franzé, J. (2015). Podemos: ¿regeneración democrática o impugnación del orden? Transición, frontera política y democracia. Cahiers de civilisation espagnole contemporaine. De 1808 au temps présent 15. Available at https://ccec.revues.org/5988?lang=es. Accessed 21 Jul 2016.

  • Iglesias, P. (2014, September 12). The left can win, Jacobin. Available at https://goo.gl/r4lDmG. Accessed 8 Nov 2014.

  • Jurado, F. (2014, November 17). Podemos: núcleo, entorno y afuera. eldiario.es. Available at http://goo.gl/Q4C2eC. Accessed 5 Jan 2015.

  • Katsambekis, G. (2016a). Radical left populism in contemporary Greece: Syriza’s trajectory from minoritarian opposition to power. Constellations, 23(3), 391–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katsambekis, G. (2016b). The populist surge in post-democratic times. The Political Quarterly (Early View). doi:10.1111/1467-923X.12317.

  • Katsambekis, G. (2016c). “The people” and political opposition in post-democracy. In J. Cook, N. Long, & H. L. Moore (Eds.), The state we’re in: Reflecting on democracy’s troubles (pp. 144–166). Oxford: Berghahn Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katsourides, Y. (2016). Radical left parties in government. The cases of SYRIZA and AKEL. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kioupkiolis, A. (2014). Towards a regime of post-political biopower? Dispatches from Greece. Theory, Culture & Society, 31(1), 143–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kioupkiolis, A. (2016). Podemos: The ambiguous promises of left-wing populism in contemporary Spain. Journal of Political Ideologies, 21(2), 99–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laclau, E. (2005). On populist reason. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laclau, E., & Mouffe, C. (1985). Hegemony and socialist strategy. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamant, L. (2015, May 2). En Espagne, Podemos se déchire sur sa stratégie. Mediapart. Available at http://goo.gl/J0Si6p. Accessed 10 June 2015.

  • Lipow, A., & Seyd, P. (1995). Political parties and the challenge to democracy: From steam-engines to techno-populism. New Political Science, 17(1–2), 295–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyrintzis, C. (2005). The changing party system: Stable democracy, contested “modernisation”. West European Politics, 28(2), 242–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Machado, D. (2014, December 5). Podemos y la experiencia latinoamericana. diagonalperiodico.net. Available at https://goo.gl/oQYvwH. Accessed 5 Jan 2015.

  • Martínez Alier, J. (2014, December 27). Podemos, el Euro-Peronismo. Rebelión. Available at http://goo.gl/CuLzYH. Accessed 10 June 2015.

  • Medina, I., & Correa, P. (2016, April 25). The 2015 Spanish election: The times they are a’changing. Regional & Federal Studies. Advance Online Publication. doi:10.1080/13597566.2016.1176920.

  • Monedero, J. M., San Juan, A. et al. (2014). Mover ficha: convertir la indignación en cambio político. Available at http://goo.gl/hE97WW. Accessed 8 Nov 2014.

  • Mouffe, C. (2005). On the political. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mudde, C. (2016, February 13). The power of populism? Not really! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cas-mudde/the-power-of-populism-not_b_9226736.html

  • Mudde, C., & Rovira Kaltwasser, C. (2012). Populism and (liberal) democracy: A framework for analysis. In C. Mudde & C. Rovira Kaltwasser (Eds.), Populism in Europe and the Americas: Threat or corrective for democracy? (pp. 1–26). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mudde, C., & Rovira Kaltwasser, C. (2017). Populism: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, D. (2017, March 11) Spanish state: Big issues for Podemos left unresolved by congress. Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal. Available at goo.gl/AkHlGQ. Accessed 9 May 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  • Panizza, F. (Ed.). (2005). Populism and the mirror of democracy. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pappas, T. (2016). Are populist leaders “charismatic”? The evidence from Europe. Constellations, 23(3), 378–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pizarro, M. A., & Labuske, E. (2015). El músculo deliberativo del algoritmo democrático: Podemos y la participación ciudadana. Teknokultura, 12(1), 93–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Podemos. (2014a). Principios Políticos. Available at http://goo.gl/XSHNHH. Accessed 8 Nov 2014.

  • Podemos. (2014b). Programa para las elecciones europeas. Available at http://goo.gl/LjUBBE. Accessed 8 Nov 2014.

  • Prentoulis, M., & Thomassen, L. (2013). Political theory in the square: Protest, representation and subjectification. Contemporary Political Theory, 12(3), 166–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, K. M. (2015). Populism, political mobilizations, and crises of political representation. In C. de la Torre (Ed.), The promise and the perils of populism (pp. 140–158). Lexington: Kentucky University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodon, T., & Hierro, M. J. (2016, March 10). Podemos and ciudadanos shake up the Spanish party system: The 2015 local and regional elections. South European Society and Politics. Advance Online Publication. doi: 10.1080/13608746.2016.1151127.

  • Rodríguez, E. (2017, April 19). Pablo Bonaparte: la confirmación. ctxt.es. Available at goo.gl/FjQPmq. Accessed 3 May 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubiño, E. F. (2015). Nuevas formas de cultura política: Podemos, un giro anómalo de las redes sociales. Teknokultura, 12(1), 77–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampedro, V., & Lobera, J. (2014). The Spanish 15-M movement: A consensual dissent? Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, 15(1–2), 61–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez, J. D. (2014, May 31). Occupy representation: Podemos and the politics of truth. Iohannes Maurus Blogspot. Available at http://goo.gl/9UoDxB. Accessed 8 Nov 2014.

  • Sanz, S. (2015, February 5). ¿Quién vota a Pablo Iglesias?. vozpopuli.com. Available at http://goo.gl/aH7v8M. Accessed 10 June 2015.

  • Seguín, B., & Faber, S. (2017, March 1). Has Spain’s Podemos party squandered its prospects? The Nation. Available at goo.gl/ufVBhh. Accessed 2 May 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spourdalakis, M. (2013). Left strategy in the Greek cauldron: Explaining Syriza’s success. Socialist Register, 49, 98–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stavrakakis, Y. (2004). Antinomies of formalism: Laclau’s theory of populism and the lessons from religious populism in Greece. Journal of Political Ideologies, 9(3), 253–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stavrakakis, Y. (2015). Populism in power: Syriza’s challenge to Europe. Juncture, 21(4), 273–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stavrakakis, Y., & Katsambekis, G. (2014). Left-wing populism in the European periphery: The case of SYRIZA. Journal of Political Ideologies, 19(2), 119–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stavrakakis, Y., Katsambekis, G., Nikisianis, N., Kioupkiolis, A., & Siomos, T. (2017). Extreme right-wing populism in Europe: Revisiting a reified association. Critical Discourse Studies. doi:10.1080/17405904.2017.1309325.

  • Stobart, L. (2014a, November 5). Understanding Pοdemos (1/3): 15 M & counter-politics. Left Flank. Available at http://goo.gl/j04qOW. Accessed 5 Jan 2015.

  • Stobart, L. (2014b, November 14). Understanding Pοdemos (2/3): Radical populism. Left Flank. Available at http://goo.gl/2FYImV. Accessed 5 Jan 2015.

  • Syriza. (2015). Framework of government programme, January. http://www.syriza.gr/upload/60147_1.pdf [in Greek].

  • Taibo, C. (Ed.). (2015). Hasta luego, Pablo. Once ensayos críticos sobre Podemos. Madrid: La Catarata.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tenhunen, L., & Rodriguez, A. (2014, June 6). Podemos: The machine is still under construction. open Democracy. Available at https://goo.gl/ysaUXX. Accessed 8 Nov 2014.

  • Tsakatika, M., & Eleftheriou, C. (2013). The radical left’s turn towards civil society in Greece. South European Society and Politics, 18(1), 81–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsatsis, T. (2009, September 7). They are moving towards collective leadership. Eleftherotypia. http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.article&id=79724 [in Greek].

  • Tsipras, A. (2011, May 27). Statement after the meeting between political leaders under the president of democracy. http://www.syn.gr/gr/keimeno.php?id=23278 [in Greek].

  • Tsipras, A. (2015a, January 19). Interview with Maria Choukli, ANT1 channel. http://www.syriza.gr/article/id/60174/[Binteo]—Synenteyksh-toy-Proedroy-toy-SYRIZA-Aleksh-Tsipra-ston—ANT1-sth-dhmosiografo-Maria-CHoyklh-.html#.VSJ94PmsWAU [in Greek].

  • Tsipras, A. (2015b, September 3). All by ourselves against all of them, and we will defeat them. http://www.efsyn.gr/arthro/monoi-mas-kai-oloi-toys-kai-tha-toys-nikisoyme [in Greek].

  • Vernardakis, C. (2011). Political parties, elections and the party system. Athens: Sakkoulas. [in Greek].

    Google Scholar 

  • Zabala, S. (2014, December 2). In Europe, not all populist parties are the same. Aljazeera America. Available at http://goo.gl/qgVMnR. Accessed 5 Jan 2015.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Political Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Alexandros Kioupkiolis & Giorgos Katsambekis

Authors
  1. Alexandros Kioupkiolis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Giorgos Katsambekis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Óscar García Agustín

  2. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA

    Marco Briziarelli

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kioupkiolis, A., Katsambekis, G. (2018). Radical Left Populism from the Margins to the Mainstream: A Comparison of Syriza and Podemos. In: García Agustín, Ó., Briziarelli, M. (eds) Podemos and the New Political Cycle. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63432-6_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation