Sign in

Alex Yates

@alexyates2000.bsky.social
1.3K followers 2.2K following 52 posts

PhDing in Bath • Researching anti-populism • 'Moral panic breeds goose-stepping, can't just stand by rubbernecking' • he/him

PostsRepliesMedia
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
If housing has made life harder, this is for you. An online EU Citizens’ Assembly on housing is recruiting. Three paid evening sessions; five languages; open to anyone in the EU. Closes 31 Oct: methodsinnovation.questionpro.com/eu-ciembly.
methodsinnovation.questionpro.com
Participation in EU Citizens' Assembly on Housing - Enterprise Survey Software
Participation in EU Citizens' Assembly on Housing - Enterprise Survey Software
020
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
📣New open access publication 📣 'Enjoying ‘Expertise’: A Critical Fantasy Study of Pro-‘Expert’ Anti-populism in UK and US Political Commentary', or, how anti-populists think 'the experts' can save us www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... 🧵1/
tandfonline.com
Enjoying ‘Expertise’: A Critical Fantasy Study of Pro-‘Expert’ Anti-populism in UK and US Political Commentary
Anti-populist discourse often presents ‘populism’ as a threat to ‘expertise’, taking the side of ‘experts’ against their ‘populist’ opponents. However, the role of enjoyment in inciting identificat...
163
Reposted by Alex Yates
Political Studies Review @psrjournal.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
🔔Online First! 🔔Open Access and Free to Read!🔓 A Cure for ‘Populism’? Diagnostic and Prognostic Framing in Anti-Populist Political Punditry You can read the full article here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... By @alexyates2000.bsky.social @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com
A Cure for ‘Populism’? Diagnostic and Prognostic Framing in Anti-Populist Political Punditry - Alex Yates, 2026
Despite growing scholarly interest in anti-populism, the remedies proposed by anti-populists to counter ‘populism’ remain underexplored. I address this gap by e...
032
Reposted by Alex Yates
European Journal of Political Research @ejprjournal.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
🆕 Is “right-wing populism” a myth? 🧚 @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.com argue three reasons why the #Populist label is ill-fitting for #FarRight politics, calling for the more common use of precise but stigmatising signifiers
buff.ly
There is no such thing as ‘right-wing populism’: Reclaiming the emancipatory potential of populism in reactionary times | European Journal of Political Research | Cambridge Core
There is no such thing as ‘right-wing populism’: Reclaiming the emancipatory potential of populism in reactionary times
13114
Reposted by Alex Yates
Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 21/04/2026
#OpenAccess from @ejprjournal.bsky.social - There is no such thing as ‘right-wing populism’: Reclaiming the emancipatory potential of #populism in reactionary times - cup.org/3OnC5wz - @alexyates2000.bsky.social & @aurelmondon.com #FirstView
Logo for the European Journal of Political Research displaying the text "EJPR European Journal of Political Research" in cream letters on a blue background, accompanied by the hashtag "#OpenAccess".
064
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
📣New article📣 'There is no such thing as 'right-wing populism.' Check it out below! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
There is no such thing as ‘right-wing populism’: Reclaiming the emancipatory potential of populism in reactionary times | European Journal of Political Research | Cambridge Core
There is no such thing as ‘right-wing populism’: Reclaiming the emancipatory potential of populism in reactionary times
1143
Reposted by Alex Yates
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 03/04/2026
Although anti-populism has a place for ‘the people’ through nominally democratic processes of voting and peaceful protest against ‘populism’, it ultimately aims at the restoration of responsible elite rule: government for the people, rather than of or by them journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
1124
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
📣New publication📣 '‘This Is Not Europe’: Investigating the Commission's Anti-Populist Articulation of ‘European Values’' or how the Commission constructs the threat of 'populism' to deflect from its own exclusionary policies and discourses onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🧵 1/
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
‘This Is Not Europe’: Investigating the Commission's Anti‐Populist Articulation of ‘European Values’
Whilst ‘populism’ is often considered antithetical to ‘European values’, how this contrast shapes the very meaning of such ‘values’ remains underexplored. This article investigates the European Commi...
194
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
📣New publication 📣 'A Cure for ‘Populism’? Diagnostic and Prognostic Framing in Anti-Populist Political Punditry' in @psrjournal.bsky.social. In this paper, I show how the 'cures' prescribed by anti-populists are elite-centric and embolden reactionary politics. 🧵 /1 doi.org/10.1177/1478...
doi.org
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
1196
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
The Bath branch of @reacpolrn.bsky.social has put together a policy study on the progressive strategies needed to halt the mainstreaming of the far right. Check it out below 👇
052
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
This is sure to be a great event. For anyone interested in decolonial studies, feminist thought, democratic theory, psychoanalysis, or (anti-)populism make sure you sign up to this hybrid book launch below!
011
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
So excited about the launch of our two new publications at @reacpolrn.bsky.social. For critical interventions which deal with questions of resistance and strategy in the global reactionary moment, please consider submitting your work to Red Lines. reacpol.net/red-lines/
reacpol.net
Red Lines - Reactionary Politics Research Network
Red Lines is a space for critical dialogue on how to resist the rise of reactionary and fascist politics.
011
Reposted by Alex Yates
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 28/09/2025
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
Headline: Populist threat to rule of law a danger to UK working class, says attorney general

Richard Hermer to aim criticism at Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick at Labour conference event
33413
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
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...
theguardian.com
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
011
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
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.
042
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
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.
192
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
"Instead of popular sovereignty, for anti-populism, democratic desires should be repressed for the common good: the return of depoliticised enjoyment for all."
010
Reposted by Alex Yates
Reactionary Politics Research Network @reacpolrn.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
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
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 ...
215154
Reposted by Alex Yates
Populism Specialist Group @populismpsa.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
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.
153
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
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.
241
Reposted by Alex Yates
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 26/02/2025
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
3225
Reposted by Alex Yates
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 26/01/2025
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...
bylinetimes.com
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
814060
Reposted by Alex Yates
Populism Specialist Group @populismpsa.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
📢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...
021
Reposted by Alex Yates
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 22/01/2025
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
0184
Reposted by Alex Yates
BJPIR @bjpir.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
📝 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:
journals.sagepub.com
054
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
📣 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...
psapopulism.org
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...
233
Reposted by Alex Yates
BJPIR @bjpir.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
📝 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:
journals.sagepub.com
044
Reposted by Alex Yates
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 10/01/2025
"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/...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
0144
Reposted by Alex Yates
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 09/01/2025
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/...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
1147
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
📣 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!
083
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
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.
020
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
📣 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
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 ...
3269
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
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...
jacobin.com
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...
094
Reposted by Alex Yates
Populism Specialist Group @populismpsa.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
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
14322
Alex Yates @alexyates2000.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
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.
1227
Reposted by Alex Yates
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 18/11/2024
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...
theconversation.com
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.
35524
Reposted by Alex Yates
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 29/02/2024
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...
theconversation.com
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.
2238