Populism and Its Definitions: Interpretations and Perspectives of a Multifaceted Political Model

This chapter deals with some of the many definitions of populism, starting with the first event in which a community of researchers came together for this purpose: the 1967 London Conference ‘To Define Populism'. The text follows the evolution of the central themes to the present day and explores, in particular, the tools produced by populism studies that help to understand two contemporary challenges: first, the emergence of new forms of populism fragmented into antagonistic groups during the SarsCoV2 Pandemic, but linked to broader authoritarian visions, and second, the new reflection on the principle of nationality and international solidarity that arose after the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. Both are challenges to the principles, intelligence and strength of democracies. This text focuses on two aspects in particular: first, the logic with which to construct definitions, so as to avoid errors of setting (unclear and ill-defined choice of subject to be studied), elaboration (conceptual stretching) and evaluation (researcher bias), and second, the understanding of the different identities with which the ‘people' presents itself and acts historically: populace, mob, civil society and revolutionary people;they cannot be confused within the same ‘populism'. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Economic policy uncertainty and corporate donation: evidence from private firms in Korea

This study examines the association between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and private firms' corporate donations. Based on resource constraints and the conservation of resources (COR) theory, we argue that private firms are constantly facing resource constraints and their resource conservation motive becomes apparent when EPU is heightened. Therefore, we expect that corporate donations are negatively related to EPU. Using audited corporate donations from 48,903 private firms in Korea during 2002–2019, we find that private firms' donations are negatively related to EPU. We find that private firms operating in more competitive conditions increase their donations, but this positive association between market competition and donations is moderated by EPU. We find that private firms' donations increased when the progressive party is in power, but this positive relationship is also moderated by EPU. Our results suggest that firms reduce their level of corporate giving to conserve resources as a precautionary saving motive when they face higher EPU. Our paper contributes to the strand of literature on corporate donations and EPU by providing evidence that EPU significantly affects private firms' donations. We also find that firms' strategic motives and political pressure to engage in corporate donations are moderated by EPU.

Progressivism, Old and New: The Spiritual Moorings of Progressive Reforms.

With the tide of progressive reforms facing strong headwinds today, this essay offers a retrospective look at the progressive movement in the U.S.A. and reflects on the lessons to be learned from its triumphs and failures. The case is made that major advances in the progressive agenda came at historical junctions precipitated by dramatic events. The stretch between 1900 and 1920 saw the first wave of social reforms following the late nineteenth century recessions and upsurge in labor unrest. The New Deal took shape in the 1930s in the aftermath of the Great Depression. The Civil Rights movement burst onto the scene in the 1960s in the face of bitter attempts to shore up segregationist practices in southern states. And the 2020s spike in progressive activism gained momentum against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the January 6 Capitol riots. Special attention is paid to the interfaces between Social Gospel theology and efforts to ground progressive rhetoric in what John Dewey called "common faith," Robert Bellah "civil religion," and Richard Rorty "liberal pragmatism."

A Digital Turn: Recognizing Asian Gendered Resistance During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies

Anti-Asian racism has escalated significantly during COVID-19, yet scholarly attention to this increase in racial violence has been scant. With rising cases of physical and verbal violence against the Asian community in the Global North, Asian activists have taken to social media and digital activism to contest anti-Asian racist tropes and to broaden global awareness around increasingly hostile anti-Asian hate. After the Atlanta Massacre which led to the death of six Asian women, Asian women have been instrumental in leading anti-racist coalition building, virtual forums, and online campaigns in the protection of Asian women and girls, workers, and undocumented communities. The use of social media and online organizing at a time of 'stay-at-home' orders exposed the significance of the Internet in Asian feminist and anti-racist resistance. These channels have given Asian women the opportunity to call attention to the gendered and racist systems of oppression that have dispossessed them of their rights. This piece recognizes the Internet as a space where Asian women have been creatively organizing alongside other women of color in vocal and subtle ways. It reveals how digital media have unearthed Asian women's hidden leadership in oftentimes racially exclusionary environments within mainstream feminist movements in the Global North, and highlights the importance of Asian women in advancing a new line of progressive anti-racist politics. This piece calls upon scholars to interrogate the use of digital media by Asian activists, and in particular Asian women, to give credit to Asian communities' oftentimes neglected and overlooked leadership in anti-racist movements.

The journey to greater equality

[...]examining incomes, along with other variables, is also essential. The crucial role of public activity then transcends capitalism, because when such services are provided by public authorities without basing them on commercial principles in anticipation of profits, this effectively creates a mixed economy. In addition to redistribution, he argues that taxes on inheritance can serve the goal of “predistribution” that inhibit too much intergenerational wealth transfer, once again suggesting that highly confiscatory rates of taxation on individuals have had immense historical success. [...]this is precisely why, in addition to the fiscal policies that he puts so much emphasis on, it is necessary to bring in other regulatory measures and changes in legal codes that would impact predistribution nationally and internationally. [...]low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) today, which cannot achieve what rich countries can through this progressive fiscal strategy alone, necessarily require other elements of a broader strategy.