This book provides a comprehensive interpretation of the multiple manifestations of populism using Italy, the only country amongst consolidated constitutional democracies in which populist political forces have been in government on various occasions since the early 1990s, as the starting point and benchmark. Populism is a complex, multi-faceted political phenomenon which redefines many of the essential characteristics of democracy; participation, representation, and political conflict. This book considers contemporary versions of populism that pose a real challenge to representative and constitutional democracy. Contributors provide an integrative interpretation of populism and analyse its principal historical, social and politico-legal variables to provide a multi-dimensional reflection on the concept of populism, comprehensive analysis of the populist phenomenon and a theoretical and comparative perspective on the diverse political experiences of populism. Based on conceptual and interdisciplinary reflections from expert authors, this book will be of great interest to scholars and post-graduate students of cultural studies, European studies, political sociology, political science, comparative politics, political philosophy, and political theory with an interest in a comparative and interdisciplinary theory of populism and its manifestations.

Most publications on the political situation in Venezuela are journalistic and lack a scientific, and particularly sociological, approach. Chavez's Children: Ideology, Education, and Society in Latin America is the first sociological work on the ideological system in Venezuela. This book deals with the deep social structures of Chavez's power, its origins, its evolution in history, its dynamics, its institutionalizations, and its relationships with the educational system. By using an empirical analysis of Bolivarian schools and fieldwork on over 300 students, Chavez's Children reconstructs the history of revolutionary movements in Venezuela and advocates a model of analysis on Latin American socio-revolutionary phenomena. This English language edition will be a great opportunity for Latin American experts as well as interested readers to uncover the system behind Chavez's power.

Populism: An Introduction is the first introduction to the theme of populism. It will introduce the principal theories, definitions, models and contemporary debates. A number of global case studies will be used to illustrate the concept: * Russian populism; * Latin American populism; * Italian populism; * Peronism; * Media populism; * Penal populism; * Constitutional populism. Populism will reflect on the sociology of democratic processes and investigate the evolution of political consensus in contemporary political systems. This book will appeal to academics and postgraduate students working in the field of sociology, political sociology and politics.

Most publications on the political situation in Venezuela are journalistic and lack a scientific, and particularly sociological, approach. Chavez's Children: Ideology, Education, and Society in Latin America is the first sociological work on the ideological system in Venezuela. This book deals with the deep social structures of Chavez's power, its origins, its evolution in history, its dynamics, its institutionalizations, and its relationships with the educational system. By using an empirical analysis of Bolivarian schools and fieldwork on over 300 students, Chavez's Children reconstructs the history of revolutionary movements in Venezuela and advocates a model of analysis on Latin American socio-revolutionary phenomena. This English language edition will be a great opportunity for Latin American experts as well as interested readers to uncover the system behind Chavez's power.

This book provides a comprehensive interpretation of the multiple manifestations of populism using Italy, the only country amongst consolidated constitutional democracies in which populist political forces have been in government on various occasions since the early 1990s, as the starting point and benchmark. Populism is a complex, multi-faceted political phenomenon which redefines many of the essential characteristics of democracy; participation, representation, and political conflict. This book considers contemporary versions of populism that pose a real challenge to representative and constitutional democracy. Contributors provide an integrative interpretation of populism and analyse its principal historical, social and politico-legal variables to provide a multi-dimensional reflection on the concept of populism, comprehensive analysis of the populist phenomenon and a theoretical and comparative perspective on the diverse political experiences of populism. Based on conceptual and interdisciplinary reflections from expert authors, this book will be of great interest to scholars and post-graduate students of cultural studies, European studies, political sociology, political science, comparative politics, political philosophy, and political theory with an interest in a comparative and interdisciplinary theory of populism and its manifestations.

Populism: An Introduction is the first introduction to the theme of populism. It will introduce the principal theories, definitions, models and contemporary debates. A number of global case studies will be used to illustrate the concept: * Russian populism; * Latin American populism; * Italian populism; * Peronism; * Media populism; * Penal populism; * Constitutional populism. Populism will reflect on the sociology of democratic processes and investigate the evolution of political consensus in contemporary political systems. This book will appeal to academics and postgraduate students working in the field of sociology, political sociology and politics.