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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · 10d

Je travaille maintenant à Dijon, mais je reste affilié à la VUB où je travaillais l'an passé. Et je garde beaucoup d'affection pour Bruxelles !

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · 10d

Si vous parlez anglais, ce petit extrait du livre de Sclafani vous montre un peu le genre d'analyse que les collègues sociolinguistes font sur lui :

static.routledge.com/978113824450...

static.routledge.com

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · 10d

Bien sûr, en termes de richesse lexicale et de sophistication de la langue, le constat est simple pour Trump. Mais au-delà de ces mesures linguistiques, il y a des choses à dire sur la façon dont il parle. Son usage du discours rapporté, son sens de la répartie, ses digressions métadiscursives,...

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · 10d

Merci beaucoup, c'était un plaisir !

Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · 10d

C'est un beau compliment, merci ! Je le fais à ma modeste mesure, mais il y a nombre de spécialistes qui font l'exégèse très détaillée du discours de Trump.

Ma référence reste Jennifer Sclafani et son livre "Talking Donald Trump", qui va bien plus en profondeur que moi.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jul 28

Last reminder 📢

Only three days left to submit your abstracts for our online symposium on the visual side of populism!

tinyurl.com/VisualPopuli...

Populism Specialist Group @populismpsa.bsky.social · May 22

Announcing the online symposium "Visualising populist identities", organised by @waxwards.bsky.social and @theoaiolfi.bsky.social on Dec 2-3, 2025, with keynotes by @mecasullo.bsky.social and @benmoffitt.bsky.social

Read the CfP here (tinyurl.com/VisualPopuli...) & submit your abstracts by July 31

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Reposted by Théo Aiolfi

Jessica Wax-Edwards @waxwards.bsky.social · Jul 25

Last chance to apply for our online symposium on Visual Populism. Deadline 31 July!

#cfp #populism #visual #mediastudies

Populism Specialist Group @populismpsa.bsky.social · May 22

Announcing the online symposium "Visualising populist identities", organised by @waxwards.bsky.social and @theoaiolfi.bsky.social on Dec 2-3, 2025, with keynotes by @mecasullo.bsky.social and @benmoffitt.bsky.social

Read the CfP here (tinyurl.com/VisualPopuli...) & submit your abstracts by July 31

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Reposted by Théo Aiolfi

CEVIPOF - Sciences Po @cevipof.bsky.social · Jun 30

New Publication of Thomás Zicman de Barros @bolandeira.bsky.social @cevipof.bsky.social with @theoaiolfi.bsky.social
cc @scpo-research.bsky.social

Thomás Zicman de Barros @bolandeira.bsky.social · Jun 18

Thrilled to share this (apparently controversial) piece with @theoaiolfi.bsky.social digging into how the French left imagines “the people.”

From LFI’s shifting tactics to Ruffin–Mélenchon frictions, creolisation, and the stakes of radical democracy — we go there!

Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

📢 New article with @bolandeira.bsky.social in JCES!

Can left populism embrace anti-racism & queer politics - or must it stick to patriotism to reach “the people”?

We reply to Rojas-Andrés, Mazzolini & Custodi with a French case: the Mélenchon–Ruffin split.👇

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jul 2

Kind reminder about the deadline at the end of July to submit abstracts for the online symposium "Visualising populist identities" on December 2nd and 3rd!

Call for Paper here: tinyurl.com/VisualPopuli...

Abstract submission there: tinyurl.com/VisualisingP...

Populism Specialist Group @populismpsa.bsky.social · May 22

Announcing the online symposium "Visualising populist identities", organised by @waxwards.bsky.social and @theoaiolfi.bsky.social on Dec 2-3, 2025, with keynotes by @mecasullo.bsky.social and @benmoffitt.bsky.social

Read the CfP here (tinyurl.com/VisualPopuli...) & submit your abstracts by July 31

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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Read the full article:
“From sovereignty to créolisation: populist strategies and the Mélenchon–Ruffin split.”
Out now in the Journal of Contemporary European Studies.

(Please do reach out to us if you face difficulties accessing it!)

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

From sovereignty to créolisation: populist strategies and the Mélenchon-Ruffin split. A response to Rojas-Andrés, Mazzolini, and Custodi

This article contributes to current debates on left-wing populism in Europe by addressing the strategic tensions between patriotic discourse and so-called ‘identity’ agendas. It does so by examinin...

www.tandfonline.com

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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So, must left populism choose patriotism over “minority” struggles?
The French case suggests otherwise: créole populism—anti-racist and pluralist—proved more promising than the sovereigntist turn, both electorally and as a strategy for radical democracy.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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Créolisation names a different universalism—open, conflictual, grounded in difference.
It is not a boutique cultural gesture, but a "dirty", grassroots process that emerges from below and redefines who "the people" can be.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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Créolisation pictures the people not as a fixed identity but as a relation—open, unstable, shaped by intertwined histories and cultures.
It roots universalism in lived plural vulnerability, not abstract national sameness.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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Seeing those limits, Mélenchon shifted strategy.
Instead of wooing far-right voters, he mobilised subaltern precarious groups—especially racialised abstentionists—and grounded this move in Édouard Glissant’s concept of créolisation.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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In France, the sovereigntist gambit aimed to lure mob-leaning far-right voters into supporting the left. But it failed. The “faché pas facho” line proved to be a dead-end.
As @ericfassin.bsky.social notes, it misunderstands far-right loyalty and ends up reinforcing exclusion.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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We build a typology mapping three expressions of invisibilised masses (that can overlap):
(1) Subalterns – excluded by race, gender or status
(2) The precarious – atomised, insecure workers
(3) The mob – déclassé, fringed, resentful groups courted by the far-right

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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To grasp this turn, remember that populism is not only about stylistic transgressions of charismatic leaders—it is about who is drawn onto the stage.

Its transgression lies in mobilising the invisibilised—sectors that are, in fact, very diverse, literally heterogeneous.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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Gradually, however, Mélenchon pivoted. He refocused on abstentionist, racialised, precarious voters in the banlieues, adopting an openly anti-racist, feminist, and queer-inclusive discourse.
It was not a strategic shift that happened smoothly, and he has been heavily criticised for this choice.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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Mélenchon initially backed that line. The so-called "faché pas facho [angry, not fascist]" strategy assumed that far-right voters weren't inherently reactionary, but simply lacked alternatives—and that appealing to national symbols could bring them (back) to the left.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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To reach them, Ruffin embraced patriotic tropes, and set aside race and gender issues, seen as "divisive".

This was in line with LFI’s "sovereigntist" phase: attempting to reconstruct a national-popular identity to rally dissatisfied citizens leaning toward the far-right.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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Our case study is the split within La France Insoumise between @jlmelenchon.bsky.social and @francoisruffin.fr.

Ruffin sought to rally what he called "les petits blancs"—"little white people" of deindustrialized and rural France: outraged citizens who have increasingly turned to the far-right.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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Whereas thought-provoking, we challenge that assumption. We claim that there is no clear pre-formed people waiting to be addressed.
Populism constructs “the people” through antagonisms—and through political choices about who becomes visible.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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Their remedy is a return to patriotic and national symbols to forge a majoritarian bloc. Playing the "national-popular" card, they claim, is a way to speak the language of ordinary citizens. In this view, anti-racism & queer politics fragment rather than unite "the people".

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

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In their recent and insightful work, Rojas-Andrés, Mazzolini & Custodi argue that Spain’s populist radical left short-circuited itself by drifting into cultural elitism—alienating its “natural addressees” by prioritising “identity” agendas.

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Théo Aiolfi @theoaiolfi.bsky.social · Jun 18

📢 New article with @bolandeira.bsky.social in JCES!

Can left populism embrace anti-racism & queer politics - or must it stick to patriotism to reach “the people”?

We reply to Rojas-Andrés, Mazzolini & Custodi with a French case: the Mélenchon–Ruffin split.👇

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

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