Alex Yates
@alexyates2000.bsky.social
PhDing in Bath • Researching anti-populism • 'Moral panic breeds goose-stepping, can't just stand by rubbernecking'
Pinned
Alex Yates
@alexyates2000.bsky.social
· Jan 9
New article out co-authored w. @alexyates2000.bsky.social in @bjpir.bsky.social
‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people
or how anti-populism is really good old demophobia
🧵
1/
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people
or how anti-populism is really good old demophobia
🧵
1/
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
📣 New open access article w/ @aurelmondon.bsky.social in @bjpir.bsky.social 📣
We discuss how anti-populist discourse constructs a circumscribed version of 'the people', whose only proper role is to support 'good' and 'responsible' liberal elites. Check it out below!
We discuss how anti-populist discourse constructs a circumscribed version of 'the people', whose only proper role is to support 'good' and 'responsible' liberal elites. Check it out below!
Reposted by Alex Yates
It really shouldn't have to be said anymore but "populism" is not the threat, it's a diversion away from the threat and crucially from the systemic nature of the issue we are facing
In doing so, it also legitimises the far right
In doing so, it also legitimises the far right
September 28, 2025 at 8:50 AM
It really shouldn't have to be said anymore but "populism" is not the threat, it's a diversion away from the threat and crucially from the systemic nature of the issue we are facing
In doing so, it also legitimises the far right
In doing so, it also legitimises the far right
It's not only Trump: The Home Office under Starmer and Cooper is tearing families apart just like ICE.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
UK Home Office tells parents their children should return to Brazil alone
While Ana Luiza Cabral Gouveia and Hugo Barbosa can remain, letter says sons, 11 and eight, must go back to Brazil
www.theguardian.com
June 18, 2025 at 7:21 AM
It's not only Trump: The Home Office under Starmer and Cooper is tearing families apart just like ICE.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
This was a pleasure to be involved with last year. Sign up for this free(!), hybrid summer school on critical approaches to the study of reactionary politics. Deadlines for applications 15th July.
📣Applications for the second Reactionary Politics Summer School are open📣
The summer school provides a space to develop key skills for the research of reactionary politics. It will be hosted hybrid and attendance is free. Bursaries are also available. Sign up below!
reacpol.net/summer-schoo...
The summer school provides a space to develop key skills for the research of reactionary politics. It will be hosted hybrid and attendance is free. Bursaries are also available. Sign up below!
reacpol.net/summer-schoo...
Summer School - Reactionary Politics Research Network
reacpol.net
June 4, 2025 at 1:44 PM
This was a pleasure to be involved with last year. Sign up for this free(!), hybrid summer school on critical approaches to the study of reactionary politics. Deadlines for applications 15th July.
Nope! This week has been a full-throated embrace by Starmer of the racism that has been immanent in mainstream discourse on migration for decades. 'Populism' has precisely nothing to do with it.
May 14, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Nope! This week has been a full-throated embrace by Starmer of the racism that has been immanent in mainstream discourse on migration for decades. 'Populism' has precisely nothing to do with it.
"Instead of popular sovereignty, for anti-populism, democratic desires should be repressed for the common good: the return of depoliticised enjoyment for all."
📈 Trending in BJPIR this week
'‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social
⬇️ Find the article in #OpenAccess here: buff.ly/tfbLfhH
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
'‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social
⬇️ Find the article in #OpenAccess here: buff.ly/tfbLfhH
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
buff.ly
April 30, 2025 at 8:41 AM
"Instead of popular sovereignty, for anti-populism, democratic desires should be repressed for the common good: the return of depoliticised enjoyment for all."
Reposted by Alex Yates
Our statement on the UK Supreme Court's ruling on the Equality Act. We stand in solidarity with trans and non-binary people and believe that it is the responsibility of researchers to hold our institutions to account to defend trans equality and dignity.
reacpol.net/supreme-cour...
reacpol.net/supreme-cour...
RPRN statement on the Supreme Court ruling on the Equality Act - Reactionary Politics Research Network
The RPRN stands in solidarity with trans and non-binary people and believes that it is the responsibility of researchers and academics to hold our institutions to account to defend trans equality and ...
reacpol.net
April 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Our statement on the UK Supreme Court's ruling on the Equality Act. We stand in solidarity with trans and non-binary people and believe that it is the responsibility of researchers to hold our institutions to account to defend trans equality and dignity.
reacpol.net/supreme-cour...
reacpol.net/supreme-cour...
Reposted by Alex Yates
Our final #PSA25 panel—held in partnership with Italian Politics SG—wraps up with a sharp discussion on populism and economic elites. Chaired by Vladimir Borden, with papers by Adam Dinsmore, @lauramontecchio.bsky.social, @alexyates2000.bsky.social, Reid Kleinberg & Lorenzo Ghiduci.
April 17, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Our final #PSA25 panel—held in partnership with Italian Politics SG—wraps up with a sharp discussion on populism and economic elites. Chaired by Vladimir Borden, with papers by Adam Dinsmore, @lauramontecchio.bsky.social, @alexyates2000.bsky.social, Reid Kleinberg & Lorenzo Ghiduci.
Check out my interview with @reacpolrn.bsky.social
on my paper (co-authored w/ @aurelmondon.bsky.social) which looks at how anti-populist discourses construct their own versions of 'the people' and 'the elite' for post-democratic ends.
on my paper (co-authored w/ @aurelmondon.bsky.social) which looks at how anti-populist discourses construct their own versions of 'the people' and 'the elite' for post-democratic ends.
📢New blog📢
Our member, @alexyates2000.bsky.social, discusses the construction of 'the elite' and 'the people' in anti-populist discourse and whether or not populism is still a useful term in political studies. Check it out below!
reacpol.net/anti-populis...
Our member, @alexyates2000.bsky.social, discusses the construction of 'the elite' and 'the people' in anti-populist discourse and whether or not populism is still a useful term in political studies. Check it out below!
reacpol.net/anti-populis...
Interview: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people (Alex Yates) - Reactionary Politics Research Network
This interview is based on Alex Yates and Aurelien Mondon’s article ‘‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' published in BJPIR (2025).
reacpol.net
April 8, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Check out my interview with @reacpolrn.bsky.social
on my paper (co-authored w/ @aurelmondon.bsky.social) which looks at how anti-populist discourses construct their own versions of 'the people' and 'the elite' for post-democratic ends.
on my paper (co-authored w/ @aurelmondon.bsky.social) which looks at how anti-populist discourses construct their own versions of 'the people' and 'the elite' for post-democratic ends.
Reposted by Alex Yates
This framing illustrates well how the Guardian editorial line rests on a mix of populist hype and anti-populism
All ills are blamed on 'the people' which allows the Guardian and many of their readers to avoid reflecting on their own power and responsibility in the current political moment
All ills are blamed on 'the people' which allows the Guardian and many of their readers to avoid reflecting on their own power and responsibility in the current political moment
Framing this article around "eating less kebabs" is really strange...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
UK urged to act now on net zero – and skip two kebabs’ worth of meat a week
Climate Change Committee issues advice to government on meeting carbon emissions target by 2050
www.theguardian.com
February 26, 2025 at 11:43 AM
This framing illustrates well how the Guardian editorial line rests on a mix of populist hype and anti-populism
All ills are blamed on 'the people' which allows the Guardian and many of their readers to avoid reflecting on their own power and responsibility in the current political moment
All ills are blamed on 'the people' which allows the Guardian and many of their readers to avoid reflecting on their own power and responsibility in the current political moment
Reposted by Alex Yates
There is no choice but to take decisive and radical action if we are to turn the tide against the dystopian reactionary tech oligarchy
@jfarkas.bsky.social and I in the @bylinetimes.bsky.social
bylinetimes.com/2025/01/26/t...
@jfarkas.bsky.social and I in the @bylinetimes.bsky.social
bylinetimes.com/2025/01/26/t...
Why It's Time to Fight Back Against the Dystopian Tech-Trump Oligarchy
Those who watched silently as reactionary tech bosses seized power in the US must now wake up and fight back, argues Johan Farkas and Aurelien Mondon
bylinetimes.com
January 26, 2025 at 9:38 AM
There is no choice but to take decisive and radical action if we are to turn the tide against the dystopian reactionary tech oligarchy
@jfarkas.bsky.social and I in the @bylinetimes.bsky.social
bylinetimes.com/2025/01/26/t...
@jfarkas.bsky.social and I in the @bylinetimes.bsky.social
bylinetimes.com/2025/01/26/t...
Reposted by Alex Yates
📢New blog entry:
What Should ‘Pluralism’ Mean in Populism Studies?
Written by Alex Yates (alexyates2000.bsky.social).
Based on Yate's recent article in journalpolitics.bsky.social entitled 'Pluralising pluralism in the study of populism'.
Link below👇
www.psapopulism.org/blog/researc...
What Should ‘Pluralism’ Mean in Populism Studies?
Written by Alex Yates (alexyates2000.bsky.social).
Based on Yate's recent article in journalpolitics.bsky.social entitled 'Pluralising pluralism in the study of populism'.
Link below👇
www.psapopulism.org/blog/researc...
January 23, 2025 at 11:50 AM
📢New blog entry:
What Should ‘Pluralism’ Mean in Populism Studies?
Written by Alex Yates (alexyates2000.bsky.social).
Based on Yate's recent article in journalpolitics.bsky.social entitled 'Pluralising pluralism in the study of populism'.
Link below👇
www.psapopulism.org/blog/researc...
What Should ‘Pluralism’ Mean in Populism Studies?
Written by Alex Yates (alexyates2000.bsky.social).
Based on Yate's recent article in journalpolitics.bsky.social entitled 'Pluralising pluralism in the study of populism'.
Link below👇
www.psapopulism.org/blog/researc...
Reposted by Alex Yates
Although anti-populism has a place for ‘the people’, it ultimately aims at the restoration of responsible elite rule: government for the people, rather than of or by them
@alexyates2000.bsky.social and I in @bjpir.bsky.social
@alexyates2000.bsky.social and I in @bjpir.bsky.social
📝 Don't miss this new BJPIR article!
'‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social
🔓 Find the full article in #OpenAccess here:
'‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social
🔓 Find the full article in #OpenAccess here:
journals.sagepub.com
January 22, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Although anti-populism has a place for ‘the people’, it ultimately aims at the restoration of responsible elite rule: government for the people, rather than of or by them
@alexyates2000.bsky.social and I in @bjpir.bsky.social
@alexyates2000.bsky.social and I in @bjpir.bsky.social
Reposted by Alex Yates
📝 Don't miss this new BJPIR article!
'‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social
🔓 Find the full article in #OpenAccess here:
'‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social
🔓 Find the full article in #OpenAccess here:
journals.sagepub.com
January 22, 2025 at 8:45 AM
📝 Don't miss this new BJPIR article!
'‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social
🔓 Find the full article in #OpenAccess here:
'‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social
🔓 Find the full article in #OpenAccess here:
📣 New blog for @populismpsa.bsky.social 📣
'What Should Pluralism Mean in Populism Studies?'
In this blog, I encourage populism scholars to think more critically about pluralism and its relationship with left-wing populism. Check it out below!
www.psapopulism.org/blog/researc...
'What Should Pluralism Mean in Populism Studies?'
In this blog, I encourage populism scholars to think more critically about pluralism and its relationship with left-wing populism. Check it out below!
www.psapopulism.org/blog/researc...
Alex Yates: What Should 'Pluralism' Mean in Populism Studies?
What Should ‘Pluralism’ Mean in Populism Studies?
Published on 21 January 2025
Alex Yates
University of Bath
A commonly made critique of populism, which pits ‘the people’ against ‘the elite’ is that i...
www.psapopulism.org
January 21, 2025 at 4:06 PM
📣 New blog for @populismpsa.bsky.social 📣
'What Should Pluralism Mean in Populism Studies?'
In this blog, I encourage populism scholars to think more critically about pluralism and its relationship with left-wing populism. Check it out below!
www.psapopulism.org/blog/researc...
'What Should Pluralism Mean in Populism Studies?'
In this blog, I encourage populism scholars to think more critically about pluralism and its relationship with left-wing populism. Check it out below!
www.psapopulism.org/blog/researc...
Reposted by Alex Yates
📝 New BJPIR article out now!
'‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social
🔓 Find the full article in #OpenAccess here:
'‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social
🔓 Find the full article in #OpenAccess here:
journals.sagepub.com
January 14, 2025 at 8:15 AM
📝 New BJPIR article out now!
'‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social
🔓 Find the full article in #OpenAccess here:
'‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people' by @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.bsky.social
🔓 Find the full article in #OpenAccess here:
Reposted by Alex Yates
"Anti-populism ultimately aims at the restoration of responsible elite rule: government for the people, rather than of or by them"
@alexyates2000.bsky.social and I look at the impact of anti-populism on democracy
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
@alexyates2000.bsky.social and I look at the impact of anti-populism on democracy
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
January 10, 2025 at 8:14 AM
"Anti-populism ultimately aims at the restoration of responsible elite rule: government for the people, rather than of or by them"
@alexyates2000.bsky.social and I look at the impact of anti-populism on democracy
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
@alexyates2000.bsky.social and I look at the impact of anti-populism on democracy
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Alex Yates
If you want to understand what's behind the careless use of 'populism' in mainstream media and punditry, the article linked below is for you!
In it, @alexyates2000.bsky.social and I look at what's behind anti-populism and the threat it poses to democracy
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
In it, @alexyates2000.bsky.social and I look at what's behind anti-populism and the threat it poses to democracy
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
January 9, 2025 at 3:06 PM
If you want to understand what's behind the careless use of 'populism' in mainstream media and punditry, the article linked below is for you!
In it, @alexyates2000.bsky.social and I look at what's behind anti-populism and the threat it poses to democracy
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
In it, @alexyates2000.bsky.social and I look at what's behind anti-populism and the threat it poses to democracy
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
📣 New open access article w/ @aurelmondon.bsky.social in @bjpir.bsky.social 📣
We discuss how anti-populist discourse constructs a circumscribed version of 'the people', whose only proper role is to support 'good' and 'responsible' liberal elites. Check it out below!
We discuss how anti-populist discourse constructs a circumscribed version of 'the people', whose only proper role is to support 'good' and 'responsible' liberal elites. Check it out below!
New article out co-authored w. @alexyates2000.bsky.social in @bjpir.bsky.social
‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people
or how anti-populism is really good old demophobia
🧵
1/
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
‘Get off your high horse and vote for us’: The anti-populist construction of the elite and the people
or how anti-populism is really good old demophobia
🧵
1/
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
January 9, 2025 at 12:14 PM
📣 New open access article w/ @aurelmondon.bsky.social in @bjpir.bsky.social 📣
We discuss how anti-populist discourse constructs a circumscribed version of 'the people', whose only proper role is to support 'good' and 'responsible' liberal elites. Check it out below!
We discuss how anti-populist discourse constructs a circumscribed version of 'the people', whose only proper role is to support 'good' and 'responsible' liberal elites. Check it out below!
The Telegraph, Mail, and Express exist to shape elite opinion by claiming to speak for "the people." Starmer's "small boats week" shows how effective this right-wing media apparatus remains.
I’ve wondered why super-rich owners keep pushing right-wing bias in their papers, since they no longer reflect or drive public opinion (if they did, the Tories would have won the last election). I think it’s that they’re still paid attention by MPs/journos/BBC. And maybe they’re a comfort blanket
this kind of obviously biased headline is so frustrating when MSM is fighting for credibility
1) New Year’s Honours list is nominated by public not by political leaders
2) Khan has won three elections so the average Londoner clearly doesn’t think he’s a failure
1) New Year’s Honours list is nominated by public not by political leaders
2) Khan has won three elections so the average Londoner clearly doesn’t think he’s a failure
December 31, 2024 at 9:52 AM
The Telegraph, Mail, and Express exist to shape elite opinion by claiming to speak for "the people." Starmer's "small boats week" shows how effective this right-wing media apparatus remains.
📣 New open access publication in @politicsjournal.bsky.social 📣
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
We about pluralism a lot in populism studies as populism’s supposed opposite, but what does pluralism actually mean? More importantly, perhaps, what do we want it to mean? 🧵
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
We about pluralism a lot in populism studies as populism’s supposed opposite, but what does pluralism actually mean? More importantly, perhaps, what do we want it to mean? 🧵
Pluralising pluralism in the study of populism - Alex Yates, 2024
Despite the widespread claim that populism and pluralism are incompatible, the latter is rarely defined clearly in the existing literature. This is significant ...
journals.sagepub.com
December 6, 2024 at 12:43 PM
📣 New open access publication in @politicsjournal.bsky.social 📣
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
We about pluralism a lot in populism studies as populism’s supposed opposite, but what does pluralism actually mean? More importantly, perhaps, what do we want it to mean? 🧵
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
We about pluralism a lot in populism studies as populism’s supposed opposite, but what does pluralism actually mean? More importantly, perhaps, what do we want it to mean? 🧵
Yesterday, Starmer called 'populism' the politics of 'easy answers', yet said it fed off 'real concerns' people have regarding migration. Check out my piece for @jacobinmag.bsky.social on how his anti-populism marginalises the left whilst mainstreaming the far right. jacobin.com/2024/10/keir...
Keir Starmer’s Anti-Populism Is a Politics of Hopelessness
At the recent Labour conference, Keir Starmer promised a break with the “fantasy of populism.” His creed of sensible centrism is allergic to popular demands — offering only smug boasting about its own...
jacobin.com
December 6, 2024 at 8:20 AM
Yesterday, Starmer called 'populism' the politics of 'easy answers', yet said it fed off 'real concerns' people have regarding migration. Check out my piece for @jacobinmag.bsky.social on how his anti-populism marginalises the left whilst mainstreaming the far right. jacobin.com/2024/10/keir...
Reposted by Alex Yates
Critical populism studies are flourishing, and we're curating a Bluesky starter pack featuring brilliant young minds and seasoned experts shaping the field! Dive into their groundbreaking work here 👇
go.bsky.app/NEheVTj
go.bsky.app/NEheVTj
November 23, 2024 at 5:32 PM
Critical populism studies are flourishing, and we're curating a Bluesky starter pack featuring brilliant young minds and seasoned experts shaping the field! Dive into their groundbreaking work here 👇
go.bsky.app/NEheVTj
go.bsky.app/NEheVTj
Unfortunately, this article I co-authored with @aurelmondon.bsky.social has only become more salient since the re-election of Donald Trump to the US presidency, and the euphemising of him as a 'populist' by media elites.
📰 It may sound strange for the Populism Specialist Group to share this great text by @alexyates2000.bsky.social against the very word "populism", but a critical analysis of the (mis)uses of the "p-word" is one of the most promising frontiers in our field! 👇
theconversation.com/the-word-pop...
theconversation.com/the-word-pop...
The word ‘populism’ is a gift to the far right – four reasons why we should stop using it
Extremists benefit when we use euphemisms that confer on them an air of legitimacy.
theconversation.com
November 18, 2024 at 12:35 PM
Unfortunately, this article I co-authored with @aurelmondon.bsky.social has only become more salient since the re-election of Donald Trump to the US presidency, and the euphemising of him as a 'populist' by media elites.
Reposted by Alex Yates
Reading yet another good article misusing the term 'populism' and thus legitimising the very ideas the author seeks to counter, I thought I'd repost the article co-authored with @alexyates2000.bsky.social
1/
theconversation.com/the-word-pop...
1/
theconversation.com/the-word-pop...
The word ‘populism’ is a gift to the far right – four reasons why we should stop using it
Extremists benefit when we use euphemisms that confer on them an air of legitimacy.
theconversation.com
November 18, 2024 at 7:35 AM
Reading yet another good article misusing the term 'populism' and thus legitimising the very ideas the author seeks to counter, I thought I'd repost the article co-authored with @alexyates2000.bsky.social
1/
theconversation.com/the-word-pop...
1/
theconversation.com/the-word-pop...
Reposted by Alex Yates
Calling the far right “populist” keeps us in our inertia. To activate the appropriate sense of urgency needed to defeat these trends, we must be honest about the kind of politics that we see in front of us
@alexyates2000.bsky.social and I on populist hype
theconversation.com/the-word-pop...
@alexyates2000.bsky.social and I on populist hype
theconversation.com/the-word-pop...
The word ‘populism’ is a gift to the far right – four reasons why we should stop using it
Extremists benefit when we use euphemisms that confer on them an air of legitimacy.
theconversation.com
February 29, 2024 at 9:14 AM
Calling the far right “populist” keeps us in our inertia. To activate the appropriate sense of urgency needed to defeat these trends, we must be honest about the kind of politics that we see in front of us
@alexyates2000.bsky.social and I on populist hype
theconversation.com/the-word-pop...
@alexyates2000.bsky.social and I on populist hype
theconversation.com/the-word-pop...