Paradoxes of populism during the pandemic

• Published in: Thesis eleven Vol. 164; no. 1; pp. 73 - 87
• Main Author: Brubaker, Rogers
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-06-2021; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: COVID-19; Crises; Economic crisis; Experts; Medicine; Pandemics; Politicians; Populism; protectionism; populism; Covid-19; crisis; expertise
• ISSN: 0725-5136; 1461-7455
• DOI: 10.1177/0725513620970804

Populist protests against Coronavirus-related restrictions in the US appear paradoxical in three respects. Populism is generally hostile to expertise, yet it has flourished at a moment when expertise has seemed more indispensable than ever. Populism thrives on crisis and indeed often depends on fabricating a sense of crisis, yet it has accused mainstream politicians and media of overblowing and even inventing the Corona crisis. Populism, finally, is ordinarily protectionist, yet it has turned anti-protectionist during the pandemic and challenged the allegedly overprotective restrictions of the nanny-state. I address each apparent paradox in turn before speculating in conclusion about how populist distrust of expertise, antipathy to government regulation, and skepticism toward elite overprotectiveness may come together – in the context of intersecting medical, economic, political, and epistemic crises – in a potent and potentially dangerous mix.