‘Saying it like it is’: Right-wing populism, international politics, and the performance of authenticity

Abstract

Populist leaders base their electoral appeal on underlying their agenda with claims to authenticity reflected both in the content and in the style of their political communication. Based on a conceptualisation of authenticity as discursive performance, we conduct a comparative analysis of the authenticity claims of two right-wing populist leaders, Boris Johnson and Donald Trump. We focus on authenticity claims associated with international politics. International issues are central to populist exclusionary narratives, but also difficult for populist incumbents to narrate authentically. We find that despite differences in their public personas, Johnson and Trump show considerable similarities in both content and style of their authenticity performances. In particular, they ‘domesticate’ international politics to reinforce domestic issues assumed closer to ‘ordinary’ voters, all the while employing rhetorical styles suggestive of their authenticity. These findings highlight the centrality of authenticity performances to populist politics and electoral appeal.

After the epistemological turn: A framework for studying populism as a knowledge phenomenon

“…This is why the current rich scholarship on populist leaders’ communication (e.g. De Luca, 2022; Lacatus and Meibauer, 2022; Löfflmann, 2022) needs to be complemented with equally thorough research of their supporters’ discursive practices.…”

“…There are already studies that address issues very similar to truth performatives, such as populist performances of authenticity (e.g. Lacatus and Meibauer, 2022; Wood et al, 2016). While related more to sincerity and cohesion than truthfulness, these analyses still uncover how populist leaders connect with the epistemic community of their supporters through performances that are consistent, immediate, emphasise the leader’s ordinariness, and build a sense of intimacy (Lacatus and Meibauer, 2022), or through their skilful blending of ‘superstar’ and ‘everyday’ celebrity status (Wood et al, 2016).…”

Introduction: Populism, Political Communication and Performative Leadership in International Politics

“…For example, populist use of social media platforms, and the reception of populist political communication online has recently attracted considerable interest (Finlayson, 2022;Lacatus, 2021;Sorensen, 2018). Crucially, scholarship on populist styles and discourses has highlighted the performativity of such political communication, for instance with regard to strategic transgression, and a focus on concepts such as deception, authenticity, charisma, demagoguery and distinctly populist 'leadership' (Aiolfi, 2022;Fouquet & Brummer, 2023;Lacatus & Meibauer, 2022;Meibauer, 2021;Moffitt, 2016;Moraes, 2022).…”

Populist Bullshit in International Politics

“…This shared 'low style' disrupts elite norms of political behaviour, and signals a challenge to the status quo (Moffitt & Tormey, 2014). It may make populists appear different and authentic (Lacatus & Meibauer, 2022).…”

“…Alternatively, secondly, the way populists employ bullshit may serve to produce their trustworthiness in the first place. Bullshit becomes a core way in which the populist leader's authenticity is communicated, which in turn underpins much of populism's electoral attractiveness (Lacatus & Meibauer, 2022). At the core of populism is the populist's alleged connection and proximity to the 'authentic' people, which they claim to represent against the 'fake' elite.…”