Constructing identity through humour in left-wing populism

人们普遍认为，我们正生活在一个“民粹主义时刻”。政治正变得更加情绪化和两极化。根据拉克劳的民粹主义逻辑，旧的话语秩序留下了大量未被满足的需求；这些要求聚集在一起，在空洞的能指下找到了表现。这种需求组合背后的力量是情感的，通过这一过程，政治身份形成了。人们对这一民粹主义时刻进行了大量研究。大多数人倾向于遵循理性主义正统，忽视或淡化影响作为政治的有效组成部分。最近，研究将影响重新引入到民粹主义的研究中。然而，它大多是与理性分开研究的。最近，研究人员开始将情感和理性视为相互关联的现象。我的工作定位在这所学校。我将探讨在左翼民粹主义中建构集体身份的话语和影响之间的相互作用。作为对这场正在进行的辩论的原创贡献，我将把重点放在幽默上，因为它同时具有情感和话语性，并且在我的案例研究中很普遍。我的研究将比较幽默在Podemos， La FranceInsoumise和Momentum/Labour社区中的作用。我将聚焦于这些民粹主义项目的支持者，而不是领导人，探讨幽默如何动员、影响并为支持者提供影响话语的手段——让“人民”回归民粹主义。

It is widely acknowledged that we are living through a'populist moment'. Politics is becoming more emotionaland polarised. Understood according to Laclau's populistlogic, the old discursive order has left a critical number ofdemands unsatisfied; these demands have groupedtogether and found representation under empty signifiers.The force behind this grouping of demands is affective, andthrough this process political identities are formed.There has been much research into this populist moment.Most has tended to follow rationalist orthodoxy and ignoredor downplayed affect as a valid component of politics.Recently, research has brought affect back into the study ofpopulism. However, it has mostly been studied separatelyfrom reason. More recently, researchers have begun toapproach affect and reason as interrelated phenomena. Mywork is positioned in this school.I will explore the interplay between discourse and affect inconstructing collective identities in left-wing populism. Inan original contribution to this ongoing debate, I will focuson humour, as it is simultaneously both affective anddiscursive, and prevalent in my case studies. My researchwill compare the role of humour in Podemos, La FranceInsoumise and Momentum/Labour communities. Focusingon supporters of these populist projects rather than leaders,I will explore how humour mobilises affects and provides ameans for supporters to influence discourse - putting the'people' back into populism.