Populism or Nationalism? The ‘Paradoxical’ Non-Emergence of Populism in Cyprus
| Author | Giorgos Venizelos |
| Published date | 01 August 2022 |
| Date | 01 August 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032321721989157 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321721989157
Political Studies
2022, Vol. 70(3) 797 –818
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/0032321721989157
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Populism or Nationalism? The
‘Paradoxical’ Non-Emergence
of Populism in Cyprus
Giorgos Venizelos
Abstract
This article investigates the curious non-emergence of populism in contemporary Cyprus despite
the deep financial crisis and profound political disillusionment – conditions that are treated as
necessary and sufficient. Putting emphasis on Cyprus’ key historical particularities, the article
inquires into the ways Cyprus’ political past, and the subsequent salient ‘national question’,
produce ambiguous notions of ‘the people’ on the one hand, and impede the potentials for a
‘populist moment’ on the other hand. By assessing the performative dynamics of oppositional
parties in Cyprus, the empirical analysis suggests that the absence of populism is rooted in the
following factors: First, nationalist discourse prevails over, and significantly weakens, populist
discourse. Second, self-proclaimed challenger parties served ‘old wine in new bottles’ further
undermining their position and claims. The failure of populism to take root in Cyprus, brings to
the fore important theoretical insights relevant to the non-emergence of populism even under
favourable conditions.
Keywords
populism, nationalism, crisis, collective identity, Cyprus
Accepted: 18 December 2020
Introduction
An increasing body of literature stresses the intimate relationship between the notion of
‘crisis’ and the rise of populist actors (Knight, 1998; Roberts, 2015). The mushrooming
of populist parties and movements in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis led politi-
cal scientists to suggest that the economic crash had served as a catalyst in the delegitimi-
sation of traditional political parties and party systems, and opened a window of
opportunity for new players who claimed to represent ‘the people’ against ‘the establish-
ment’ (Kriesi and Pappas, 2015).
Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy
Corresponding author:
Giorgos Venizelos, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi,
Florence 50123, Italy.
Email: george.venizelos@sns.it
989157PSX0010.1177/0032321721989157Political StudiesVenizelos
research-article2021
Article
798 Political Studies 70(3)
In 2017, electoral advances for nativist right-populist leaders Marine Le Pen and Geert
Wilders brought them close to power in France and the Netherlands, respectively. On the
left of the spectrum, the rise of PODEMOS in Spain and Jean-Luc Mélenchon in France
challenged established parties’ hegemony. Elsewhere, populist parties moved from oppo-
sition to power and formed ruling coalition governments even where their ideologies
were not entirely aligned or even opposed, as in the coalitions between the nativist right-
wing Lega and the Five Star Movement in Italy (2018), and radical left SYRIZA and radi-
cal right ANEL in Greece (2015–2019).
In the context of the Great Recession, Cyprus is the missing link in the chain of
European populism. This article deals with the apparent paradox that characterises the
post-crash period in Cyprus: although it experienced severe economic conditions
(Charalambous et al., 2015) interwoven with evident distrust towards the political system
(Eurobarometer, 2011, 2013, 2014a, 2015), no effective populist actor managed to chal-
lenge the pro-austerity government of the right-wing DISY (
Δημοκρατικός Συναγερμός
– Dimokratikos Synagermos). Indeed, in January 2018, even after implementing an aus-
terity programme that re-shaped the social terrain as severely as the 1974 Turkish inva-
sion, DISY won a second term in office.
The strange absence of populism in Cyprus challenges the prevailing theoretical
expectation that economic and representational crises are sufficient and necessary condi-
tions for populist movements and parties to emerge. Moving beyond the perception that
crisis alone automatically translates into populism, this article puts emphasis on the per-
formative dynamics of parties themselves, investigating whether populist discourse was
successfully employed, by both established and emerging oppositional forces in crisis-
ridden Cyprus. Furthermore, it considers Cyprus’ key political and historical particulari-
ties – the 1974 Turkish invasion and subsequent occupation of 36% of the island, the
long-standing ambiguous notions of ‘the people’ which are rooted in ethnic narratives
(Ker-Lindsay, 2015) – and how these particularities create a salient ‘national cleavage’
that impacts the potential for a ‘populist moment’ in Cyprus.
The scant scholarly work on populism in Cyprus presents obstacles to any systematic analy-
sis. This article contributes to filling this gap, while also arguing that the consideration of Cyprus
as a negative case of populism opens up space for greater theoretical questions (cf. Mahoney and
Goertz, 2004): does ‘crisis’, be it economic or representational, suffice for populism to arise?
Why does populism sometimes not arise, even in favourable conditions? What role do signifi-
cant pre-existing national cleavages play in generating or impeding its emergence?
This article is structured as follows: ‘Populism in the shadow of nationalism’ provides an
overview of the concept of populism and, through the lens of discourse theory, it re-examines
its relationship in juxtaposition to nationalism, emotions and crisis. Methodology is outlined
in ‘Research method and data collection’ outlines the research methods and data collection.
‘Cyprus’ historical and political background: between populism and nationalism?’ provides
the historical background out of which the notions of ‘the people’ and its ‘other’ emerged in
the Republic of Cyprus (RoC), while also offering an overview of the most recent politico-
economic crisis. ‘Political discourse in contemporary Cyprus’ empirically investigates politi-
cal discourse in crisis-ridden Cyprus and the degrees to which populist performances were
employed. The conclusion offers theoretical considerations for future research.
Populism in the Shadow of Nationalism
The impressively rich contemporary literature on populism has recently moved towards
a consensus that populism maintains two core and omnipresent characteristics.
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