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Article Dans Une Revue Human Relations Année : 2022

Organising populism: From symbolic power to symbolic violence

Ron Kerr
Martyna Śliwa

Résumé

This article contributes to developing a management and organisation studies perspective on political organising by focusing on: (a) populism; (b) the exercise of political power; and (c) the organisation of politics. We address two questions: in what ways have English populist politicians in the 20th and 21st centuries utilised language along with other aspects of campaign organising to build and enhance their symbolic power? And: how do populist political organisations convert symbolic power into symbolic violence? Drawing on a range of concepts from Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology, most specifically his work on symbolic power, symbolic violence, political ontology and the performativity of language, we conduct a comparative analysis of texts from four waves of right-wing English populism culminating in Brexit. We develop a three-step framework to explain the organisation of right-wing populism via what we term populist political methodology: (1) establishing the symbolic power of the leader and the message; (2) organising power and the division of labour of domination; and (3) reinforcing symbolic violence in targeted sections of society. Understanding how populist politics is organised can support us in resisting, challenging and disrupting right-wing populism, providing lessons for organisations campaigning against racism and xenophobia.

Dates et versions

hal-04323340 , version 1 (05-12-2023)

Identifiants

Citer

Ron Kerr, Sarah Robinson, Martyna Śliwa. Organising populism: From symbolic power to symbolic violence. Human Relations, 2022, 77 (1), pp.81-110. ⟨10.1177/00187267221129181⟩. ⟨hal-04323340⟩
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