Law, Populism and Common Sense: The democratic Theory towards the Age of Populisms
by Sirio Zolea
pp. 232-264 Issue 14 ( 7,2) – July-December 2020 ISSN (online): 2539/2239 ISSN (print): 2389-8232 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14718/SoftPower.2020.7.2.11
Abstract
What is exactly populism? Can we speak about a “juridical populism”? This essay aims to develop in the legal field the theories of Laclau and Mouffe, interpreting populism as a model of conflictual articulation of the political discourse in a liquid society. Thus, it may be considered as a political strategy which aims to rupture instead of continuity, but neutral with respect to the contents with which it can effectively be filled. The political struggle can be conceived as a struggle for hegemony. In a populist strategy, several social demands are deconstructed and reorganized around a major social demand, potentially able to evoke a new common sense and therefore a new hegemonic social order.