National Populists: Right-wing Celebrity Politicians in Contemporary Europe (Special Issue of Celebrity Studies)
Guest Editors:
Neil Ewen, University of Winchester, UK.
David Zeglen, George Mason University, USA.
In recent years, the aura of celebrity has proven attractive to neo-nationalist politicians who have become influential, and in some cases dominant, players in the construction of their own regional hegemonies. This special issue of Celebrity Studies brings together articles that focus on the ways that different populist/neo-nationalist politicians in Europe – both from the ‘centre’ (the United Kingdom and France) and the ‘periphery’ (Russia, Turkey, the former Yugoslavia) – have utilized celebrity to convert their mythological narratives into forms of legitimacy through the media. While the socio-economic levels, cultural contexts, and media ecologies of Europe’s countries vary widely between themselves, this special issue will suggest that the common democratic dream of Europe – which is, of course, currently under urgent threat – provided rich terrain for the growth of celebrity politics. As Europe fragments, and as a result of the alienation and anxiety provoked by neoliberalism, many European groups have become increasingly vulnerable to radical forms of solidarity exploited by populist politicians who understand, and show a mastery of, their own affective power as celebrities. These case studies, through the interrogation of the celebrity politician within the political economy of the particular national context, will consider what ways, and to what extent, celebrity’s intersection with official political action is changing the ways Europe’s nations are imagined and governed in the era of neoliberal globalization.
We are seeking one further article to complete a special issue that already comprises pieces by a diverse group of established and emerging scholars on Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Nigel Farage, Marine Le Pen, Slobodan Milošević, Viktor Orbán, and Vladimir Putin. We would be particularly interested in proposals for articles on the following figures: Silvio Berlusconi, Pim Fortuyn, Jörg Haider, Pia Kjærsgaard, Frauke Petry, and Geert Wilders.
Interested authors should send a proposal (approx. 500 words) and a short biography to Dr. Neil Ewen ([log in to unmask]) by 11 March 2016, and will receive responses by 18 March. The completed article (6000-8000 words) will be due 1 July 2016. Only previously unpublished work will be considered.
--------------------------------------------------------
MeCCSA mailing list
--------------------------------------------------------
To manage your subscription or unsubscribe from the MECCSA list, please visit:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=MECCSA&A=1
-------------------------------------------------------
MeCCSA is the subject association for the field of media, communication and cultural studies in UK Higher Education.
This mailing list is a free service and is not restricted to members. It is an unmoderated list and content reflect the views of those who post to the list and not of MeCCSA as an organisation.
MeCCSA recommends that the list be used only for posting of information (for example about events, publications, conferences, lectures) of interest to members or to promote discussion of current issues of wide general interest in the field. Posts to the MeCCSA mailing list are public, indexed by Google, and can be accessed from the JISCMail website (http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/meccsa.html).
Any messages posted to the list are subject to the JISCMail acceptable use policy, which states that users should avoid engaging in unreasonable behaviour, or disrupting the general flow of discussion on a list.
For further information, please visit: http://www.meccsa.org.uk/
--------------------------------------------------------
|