Article published in:
Democracy and Discriminatory Strategies in Parliamentary Discourse
Edited by Karin Bischof and Cornelia Ilie
[Journal of Language and Politics 17:5] 2018
► pp. 636–654

Constructing ‘the people’

An intersectional analysis of right-wing concepts of democracy and citizenship in Austria

| Danube University Krems
| FH Campus Wien (University of Applied Sciences)
| University of Vienna
This article analyses right-wing populist constructions of ‘the people’ emerging at the intersections of ethnicized ‘othering’ and gendered differences within groups. We argue that these constructions are in stark contrast to the liberal notion of citizenship, which we understand to be the basis for the demos. Right-wing populism constructs its politics of belonging beyond rights, i.e. ‘the people’ is defined as a community through identity with the political leader, rather than as a political entity marked by different interests and endowed with rights, which could be represented politically. We argue that it is important to not only analyse practices of ‘othering’ and exclusion, but also the appeal to the ‘we’-group in order to understand right-wing populist success. Empirically our Critical Frame Analysis focuses on the Austrian context and on the FPÖ, which has been a forerunner in the ‘modernization’ of right-wing extremism and the development of right-wing populism in Europe.
Keywords: right-wing populism, extremism, Austria, democracy, gender, citizenship
Published online: 13 September 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.18013.may
References

References

Ajanovic, Edma, Stefanie, Mayer, and Birgit Sauer
2015 “Natural Enemies: Articulations of Racism in Right-Wing Populism in Austria.” Časopis za kritiko znanosti, domišljijo in novo antropologijo: 260: 203–214.Google Scholar
Arrighi, Jean-Thomas, and Rainer Bauböck
2017 “A multilevel puzzle: Migrants’ voting rights in national and local elections.” European Journal of Political Research 56 (3): 619–639. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bacchi, Carol
2009 “The Issue of Intentionality in Frame Theory: The Need for Reflexive Framing.” In The Discursive Politics of Gender Equality. Stretching, Bending and Policymaking, ed. by Emanuela Lombardo, Petra Meier, and Mieke Verloo, 19–35. New York/London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Bischof, Karin, Florian Oberhuber, and Karin Stögner
2010 “Gender-specific constructions of the ‘other religion’ in French and Austrian discourse on Turkey’s accession to the European Union.” Journal of Language and Politics 9:3, 364–392 CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Campani, Giovanna, and Birgit Sauer
2017 “The Neo-fascist and Neo-nazi Constellations. The Cases of Italy and Austria.” In Understanding the Populist Shift. Othering in a Europe in Crisis, ed. by Gabriella Lazaridis, and Giovanna Campani, 31–49. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Canovan, Margaret
2004 “Populism for Political Theorists?” Journal of Political Ideologies 9 (3): 241–52. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
1999 “Trust the People! Populism and the Two Faces of Democracy” Political Studies 47 (1): 2–16. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Engel, Jakob, and Ruth Wodak
2013 “‘Calculated Ambivalence’ and Holocaust Denial in Austria.” In Analysing Fascist Discourse. European Fascism in Talk and Text, ed. by Ruth Wodak, and John E. Richardson, 73–96. New York, NY et al.: Routledge.Google Scholar
Fekete, Liz
2004 “Anti-Muslim Racism and the European Security State.” Race & Class 46 (1): 3–29. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
2009 A Suitable Enemy. Racism, Migration and Islamophobia in Europe. London: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
FPÖ-Bildungsinstitut
2013 Handbuch Freiheitlicher Politik [Handbook Freedom Party Politics]. Vienna: FPÖ-Bildungsinstitut. https://​www​.fpoe​.at​/fileadmin​/user​_upload​/www​.fpoe​.at​/dokumente​/2015​/Handbuch​_freiheitlicher​_Politik​_WEB​.pdf [30.05.2017]
Hafez, Farid
2010 Islamophober Populismus. Moschee- und Minarettbauverbote österreichischer Parlamentsparteien [Islamophobic populism. Bans on mosques and minarets by Austrian parliamentary parties]. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Stuart
1985 “Authoritarin Populism: A Reply to Jessop et al.” New Left Review 151: 115–24.Google Scholar
Jäger, Margarete
1999 “Ethnisierung von Sexismus im Einwanderungsdiskurs. Analyse einer Diskursverschränkung [Ethnicisation of sexism in immigration discourse. Analysis of an entanglement of discourses].” Lecture at the University of Göttingen, 16.9.1999. http://​www​.diss​-duisburg​.de​/Internetbibliothek​/Artikel​/Ethnisierung​_von​_Sexismus​.htm [30.05.2017]
Jenewein, Hans Jörg
2016 “Aktuelle Herausforderungen durch die Flüchtlingssituation [Current challenges of the refugee crisis].” Stenographisches Protokoll 850. Sitzung des Bundesrates, 11.2.2016, 27/28. https://​www​.parlament​.gv​.at​/PAKT​/VHG​/BR​/BRSITZ​/BRSITZ​_00850​/fname​_546250​.pdf [30.05.2017]
Klammer, Karina
2013 Imaginationen des Untergangs. Zur Konstruktion antimuslimischer Fremdbilder im Rahmen der Identitätspolitik der FPÖ [Imaginations of doom. The construction of anti-muslim othering in the FPÖ‘s identity politics]. Münster: Lit Verlag.Google Scholar
Krastev, Ivan
2007 “The Populist Moment.” Critique and Humanism (сп. Критика и хуманизъм), 23 (1): 103–108.Google Scholar
Krauss, Maximilian
2013 “Die wenigen Österreicher kommen unter die Räder [The few Austrians go to racks and ruins]” Der Standard, 6.8.2013. http://​derstandard​.at​/1373514306212​/Die​-wenigen​-Oesterreicher​-kommen​-unter​-die​-Raeder [30.05.2017]
Krzyzanowski, Michal, and Ruth Wodak
2008 “Migration und Rassismus in Österreich [Migration and racism in Austria]” In Rassismus. Beiträge Zu Einem Vielgesichtigen Phänomen [Racism. Contributions on a multifaceted phenomenon], ed. by Gomes, Bea et al., 256–278, Vienna: Mandelbaum.Google Scholar
Kuhar, Roman, and Edma Ajanović
2018 “Sexuality Online – The Construction of Right-Wing Populists’ “Internal Others” on the Web” In Populism and the Web, ed. by Mojca Pajnik, and Birgit Sauer, 141–156, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Mayer, Stefanie, and Birgit Sauer
2017 “Kulturkampf 2.0. ‘Anti-Genderismus’ als Strategie gegen Gleichstellung und sexuelle Rechte in Europa [Culture war 2.0. ‘Anti-genderism’ as a strategy against gender equality and sexual rights in Europe].” In Europe – what’s left?, ed. by Mario Candeias, and Alex Demirovic, 211–228, Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot.Google Scholar
Mayer, Stefanie, Edma Ajanović, and Birgit Sauer
2014 “Intersections and Inconsistencies. Framing gender in right-wing populist discourses in Austria” NORA – Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research (22): 4: 250–266. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mudde, Cas
1996 “The War of Words Defining the Extreme Right Party Family.” West European Politics 19 (2): 225–48. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
2004 “The Populist Zeitgeist.” Government and Opposition, 39 (4): 542–563. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
2007 Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Neuwal.com
nd). Wahlumfragen Österreich [Election polls Austria]. https://​neuwal​.com​/wahlumfragen​/index​.php​?cid​=1#focus [20.03.2017]
Paternotte, David, and Roman Kuhar
(eds.) 2017 Anti-Gender Crusades in Europe: Mobilizations against Equality. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Pelinka, Anton
2002 “Die FPÖ in der vergleichenden Parteienforschung. Zur typologischen Einordnung der Freiheitlichen Partei Österreichs [The FPÖ in comparative party research. On the typological classification of the Austrian Freedom Party]” Österreichische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft, 3: 281–290.Google Scholar
Poglia-Mileti, Francesca, Roccardo Tondolo, Fabrice Plomb, Franz Schultheis, Malte-Henning Meyer, Gudrun Hentges, Jörg Flecker and Ingrid Mairhuber
2002 Modern Sirens and their Populist Songs. A European Literature Review on Changes in Working Life and the Rise of Right-Wing Populism. Wien: FORBA.Google Scholar
Pulinx, Reinhilde, and Piet Van Avermaet
2015 “Integration in Flanders (Belgium) – Citizenship as achievement. How intertwined are ‘citizenship’ and ‘integration’ in Flemish language policies?” Journal of Language and Politics 14:3, 335–358. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Priester, Karin
2012 Rechter und linker Populismus. Annäherung an ein Chamäleon [Right-wing and left-wing populism. Approaching a chameleon]. Frankfurt/New York: Campus.Google Scholar
Ranieri, Maria
(Ed.) 2016 Populism, Media and Education. London/New York: Routledge. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Reinfeldt, Sebastian
2000 Nicht-wir und Die-da. Studien zum rechten Populismus [Not-us and those-there. Studies on right-wing populism]. Vienna: Braumüller.Google Scholar
Reisigl, Martin
2012 “Zur kommunikativen Dimension des Rechtspopulismus.” In Populismus. Herausforderung} oder Gefahr für die Demokratie?, ed. by Sir Peter Ustinov Institut, 141–162, Vienna: new academic press.Google Scholar
Rosenberger, Sieglinde, and Birgit Sauer
2011 “Governing Muslim Headscarves: Regulations and Debates in Europe.” In The Limits of Gendered Citizenship: Contexts and Complexities, ed. by Elzbieta H. Oleksy, Jeff Hearn, and Dorota Golanska, 159–175, London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sauer, Birgit
2013 Intersectionality From Above – Framing Muslim Headscarves in European Policy Debates. Paper presented at the ECPR General Conference , Bordeaux , September 2013.
2016 “Gender and Citizenship: Governing Muslim Body Covering in Europe.” In Contemporary Encounters in Gender and Religion. European Perspectives, ed. by Lena Gemzöe et al., 105–129, Cham: Palgrave MacMillan. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Sauer, Birgit, and Etienne Pingaud
2016 “Framing Differences: Theorising New Populist Communicative Strategies on the Internet”, In Populism, Media and Education, ed. by Maria Ranieri, 26–43. London/New York: Routledge. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Schimanek, Carmen et al.
2016 “Antrag betreffend Stopp dem ‘Genderwahn’! [Parliamentary motion stop the ‘gender delusion’!]” 1587/A(E), XXV. GP, 8.3.2016, https://​www​.parlament​.gv​.at​/PAKT​/VHG​/XXV​/A​/A​_01587​/imfname​_514872​.pdf [30.05.2017]
Solomos, John
2013 “Contemporary Forms of Racist Movements and Mobilization in Britain”, In Right-Wing populism in Europe. Politics and Discourse ed. by Ruth Wodak et al., 121–134, London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Stefan, Harald et al.
2017 “Entschließungsantrag betreffend rasche Anwendung des Deregulierungsgrundsätzegesetzes auf brisante Probleme Österreich [Resolution proposal with regards to the quick implementation of the law on deregulation principles on pressing problems in Austria].” 835/UEA, XXV. GP, 29.3.2017, https://​www​.parlament​.gv​.at​/PAKT​/VHG​/XXV​/UEA​/UEA​_00835​/imfname​_625530​.pdf [30.05.2017]
Strache, Hans-Christian
2010 Posting on Facebook, November 15 2010 https://​de​.facebook​.com​/HCStrache [20.10.2014].
2012 “Bericht des Ausschusses für innere Angelegenheiten über die Regierungsvorlage (1958 d.B.) [Report of the Committee for internal Affairs on Government proposal (1958)]”, Stenographisches Protokoll des Nationalrats, 5.12.2012, 166/167. https://​www​.parlament​.gv​.at​/PAKT​/VHG​/XXIV​/NRSITZ​/NRSITZ​_00184​/fname​_295425​.pdf [30.05.2017]
Taggart, Paul A.
2000 Populism. Buckingham et al.: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Wiegel, Gerd
2013 “Rechtsverschiebung in Europa [Right shift in Europe]” In Die neuen Rechten in Europa. Zwischen Neoliberalismus und Rassismus [The New Right in Europe. Between neo-liberalism and racism] ed. by Peter Bathke, and Anke Hoffstadt, 112–125, Köln: PapyRossa.Google Scholar
Verloo, Mieke
2005 “Mainstreaming gender equality in Europe. A critical frame analysis approach”, The Greek Review of Social Research B/117, 11–34.Google Scholar
Yuval-Davis, Nira
2007 “Intersectionality, Citizenship and Contemporary Politics of Belonging”, Critical review of International, Social and Political Philosophy 10 (4), 561–574. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 4 other publications

Gritschmeier, Raphael
2020.  In Demokratie und Anomie, ► pp. 111 ff. Crossref logo
Panreck, Isabelle-Christine
2020.  In Populismus – Staat – Demokratie [Staat – Souveränität – Nation, ], ► pp. 135 ff. Crossref logo
Pasitselska, Olga & Christian Baden
2020. Who are ‘the people’?. Journal of Language and Politics 19:4 ► pp. 666 ff. Crossref logo
Thoma, Nadja
2020. ‘I don’t want to be pushed into an islamic school’: biography and raciolinguistic ideologies in education. Race Ethnicity and Education ► pp. 1 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 22 may 2021. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.