Left populists fused PR skills with square-protest horizontalism into a new politics

Evidence

In the 2010s, left populists had proven capable of hijacking big electoral machines, conquering national governments from both majority and minority positions, and winning several municipal seats in the cities. The forces in question had drawn lessons from the two modes of politics which had dominated the last twenty years: PR and protest. For the former, they rewired the communication and media skills honed by increasingly cartel-like parties during the neoliberal ice age. For the latter, they drew on the horizontal participation introduced by the occupations of the squares and other protest movements. They developed an earnest interest in power, for they did not believe one could “change the world without taking it.” — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment, 257

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Left populism helped destroy post-politics yet failed to restore mass politics — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment: The Left After the…, 345; Populist-left parties replaced mass-party structures with leader-centric media-driven quick mobilization — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment: The Left After the…, 97; Populist-left parties channeled square-movements’ spirit into electoral bids for state power — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment: The Left After the…, 121 (+1 more)