Digital Populism and Media in Latin America and Europe: Narratives, Mobilization, and Democratic Challenges

The panel examines the new dynamics of populism in Latin America and Europe, especially as they are mediated through digital media in terms of both discourse and mobilization. By uniting scholars from both regions, we will offer a comparative frame for understanding the ways in which populist actors exploit digital media to craft narratives, mobilize supporters, and defy established political elites.
The panel will focus its case analysis on the prominent countries within both regions, contrasting and comparing similarities where applicable, as well as pointing out divergences in populist communication between the regions. We will explore the re-adaptation of classic populist strategies in the digital age by populist leaders in Latin America and contrast the findings with the strategies utilized by European populist parties.
The relations between the study of populism in both regions will be an area of special attention; populist attitudes among citizens and the reasons for the attractiveness of populism will be studied as well. In other words, the panel will also discuss the dangers that digital populism presents to democratic institutions and media ecosystems, and how to encourage media literacy and resistance to populist behaviour and thought.
In this sense, the goal of this panel is to integrate both, Latin American and European lenses in an attempt to enrich our understanding of contemporary populism and its transnational nature, as well as the complexities of digital media in the spread and challenge of populism.