José Vicente Vezzosi is Associate Professor of Political Science at the National University of Santiago del Estero, Argentina
PhD in Political Science, National University of Córdoba, Argentina (2015)
Degree in Political Science, Catholic University of Santiago del Estero, Argentina (2008)
Democracy, Radical Populism, Moral Discourses, Stateness, Latin America and Europe
Duration
6 months, November 2024 – February 2025
June – September 2025
Host at the University of Passau
Prof. Dr. Oliver Hidalgo
Chair of Political Science with a focus on Political Theory
As a long tradition in the social sciences indicates, moral discourses have decisively influenced the different historical configurations of the modern state, particularly concerning the development of stateness, i.e., the states effective power to exercise its authority. This understanding does not only concern the functioning of a state, but especially the ideas and values the actors within it hold of what they aim to achieve and how. For several decades, the globally accepted and preferred form of government seemed to be what we can call Western Democracy, implying democratic stateness as its form of governance. However, the emergence of radical neopopulism at a global level at the dawn of the 21st century raises alarms about the future of western democracies, and invites us to review the moral content of the discourses of leaders and militants of the extreme right. In my research project as a PICAIS visiting fellow, I will focus on understanding the type of stateness these actors aspire to build. Comparing European and Latin American processes, this research analyses four dimensions of far-right discourses to assess their compatibility with democracy: ethnic, religious, labour and geopolitical. In this way, the aim is to deepen knowledge about these new authoritarian political expressions that have put Western democracies at a crossroads, and also to warn about possible consequences regarding a just order and sustainable development, as well as discussing ideas of Non-Western Democracies as possible answers.
