What role does storytelling play in right-wing populist parties? With a focus on the Finns Party ... more What role does storytelling play in right-wing populist parties? With a focus on the Finns Party and its leaders Timo Soini (1995–2017) and Jussi Halla-aho (2017–2021), this article depicts the narrative struggle that ensued when the Finns Party joined government in 2015 and exposes the challenges populist storytellers face when engaged in governing coalitions. Whereas Soini argued in favour of joining government and actively participating in broad, consensus-based policymaking, Halla-aho focused on directly challenging government by targeting migration as a key concern for party voters. These tensions culminated in the breakup of the party, where a small faction continued in government until 2019 while the mother party returned to the opposition. A storytelling perspective shows the importance of a credible truth-telling narrative in understanding far-right populist electoral success and demonstrates the challenges government responsibility presents for populist narrative credibility.
British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Apr 1, 2013
This book wrestles with a simple, yet problematic question: In the decade since the start of the ... more This book wrestles with a simple, yet problematic question: In the decade since the start of the pre-accession process, what impact has the European Union (EU) had on Turkish foreign policy? On the one hand, the answer might seem simple and obvious, for during this period there has been an unmissable transformation in Turkish foreign policy. On the other hand, it is notoriously difficult to determine causation and to say exactly how much of this shift can be attributed to the influence of the EU. With the aid of ‘Europeanisation’ as her analytical chisel, Özlem Terzi carves her way through the changes experienced among political actors and their foreign policy positions in Turkey and the makeover witnessed in foreign policy practice. Europeanisation remains a useful framework for assessing change and it is particularly applicable in situations where domestic actors experience a ‘misfit’ between their own existing practices and the expectations imposed on them by European-level standards. This situation presents two broad options. The actors either engage in a rational cost-benefit analysis of possible avenues of action, responding strategically, or they become convinced by the values of the new norms and internalise them as part of a new identity. This distinction in the possible motives underlying the Europeanisation of foreign policy is a crucial part of Terzi’s analysis: the more Turkey’s changing policy objectives can be explained as a rational cost-benefit calculation, the less influence we can assign to the EU as the force behind this change. The first part of the book focuses on the role of political actors, evaluating the changing foreign policy perceptions of political parties, governments, the military and civil society organisations. Here the influence of the EU has been mixed. The most distinct Europeanisation, in consequence of accession process-related conditionality, has occurred in the military sphere where power has been transferred to civilian institutions of the state. Similarly, the position of civil society organisations has been clearly strengthened by reforms enacted in consequence of the Copenhagen criteria. Terzi also points out that in the last decade Turkish governments have gradually become more proactive and solutionoriented in the foreign policy approach, thus internalising certain EU foreign policy norms. However, in this last regard the motivations behind change are more mixed as the re-focus in Turkish interests more widely across the Middle East in particular can also be seen as a strategy that avoids undue reliance on the EU in Turkey’s foreign policy portfolio. The second part of the book looks at ‘issues’ that have been consistently at the centre of Turkey’s foreign policy concerns: relations with Greece and Armenia, the Cyprus issue, relations with Middle East neighbours, and the role of the United States in defining Turkey’s foreign policy interests. In the case of Greece, Armenia and Cyprus the EU has had at least limited influence on Turkish policy objectives, since these are issues covered within the remit of the pre-accession process. However, given the emotive nature of the Armenian and Cypriot relations in particular, new policy approaches have also caused tensions and led to retractions of policy as the government has had to reposition itself in the face of domestic BOOK REVIEWS
Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy
Over the last 10 years, to no small degree, thanks to the work of the outgoing editors Zoë Irving... more Over the last 10 years, to no small degree, thanks to the work of the outgoing editors Zoë Irving and Kevin Farnsworth, the Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy (hereafter: the Journal) has positioned itself among the leading outlets for international and comparative social policy research.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of people’s lives worldwide, including the work of... more The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of people’s lives worldwide, including the work of social workers and the education of social work students. Field placements are a significant part of social work education, but during the pandemic they were cut short and most teachings moved online. The current mixed methods study examined the effects of social work education on social work students’ empathy and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic on the island of Ireland. A matched sample of forty-nine students completed an online survey at the start (T1) of their degree and at the end (T2). A further 229 students who only completed the T1 survey were compared to 70 others who only completed the T2 survey. The results showed improved resilience in the cohort comparison. There were no differences in empathy in the matched sample nor between the cohorts. Thematic analysis of students’ narratives showed that they found the switch to online learning difficult, with some reporting neg...
Formal social citizenship is limited in how it enables us to think about informal social citizens... more Formal social citizenship is limited in how it enables us to think about informal social citizenship and informal welfare. This informal perspective is important in all contexts where access to social rights is negotiated through local and transnational spaces, and where the state is a relatively minor player. By drawing on work on moral economy (Scott, 1976) and informal welfare (Gough and Wood, 2006) the article aims to propose a new theoretical model to understand the nature and social practice of both informal citizenship and welfare. This model departs from a western-centric understanding of nation-state-based citizenship and national welfare states, adopting instead the perspective that informal social citizenship and welfare have existed independently of the nation state as long as there have been human communities. Formal citizenship together with formal welfare rights represent just one particular crystallization of such informal practice. Our proposed model highlights the ...
This chapter investigates the relationship between far-right populism and social policy. The chap... more This chapter investigates the relationship between far-right populism and social policy. The chapter argues that an approach anchored in framing and policy narratives will yield new understandings of how far-right populist discourses have come to challenge social democratic and neoliberal welfare narratives. The new narrative challenges and denigrates the economic and political elite as self-serving and corrupt, claiming to represent the interest of the ‘people’ instead. In defining ‘people’, the interests of certain societal groups are prioritised on the bases of culture or ethnicity. Importantly for social policy, this chapter argues, in this universal social rights and social citizenship are reframed in ethno-nationalist and welfare chauvinist terms. The chapter draws upon the case of Sweden in order to briefly exemplify the discursive strategies at play.
We propose that populism is a storytelling performance that involves a charismatic truth-teller a... more We propose that populism is a storytelling performance that involves a charismatic truth-teller and a populist narrative frame. Populist narratives are sensemaking devices that guide people in areas of contestation, uncertainty and complexity where decisions cannot solely rely on rational and formal processes. Populist truth-tellers apply a particular narrative frame that pits people against the elite when interpreting complex problems such as climate change. The aim of this article is one of theory generating, using the cases of Donald Trump and Greta Thunberg to illustrate the idea of populism as storytelling. While their climate change stories are very different, both share an approach that relies on the truth-telling character of their hero, applying the same populist narrative frame. These findings add to our understanding of the role emotions and conflicts play in the struggles to make sense of climate change based on particular interests or political agendas
Euroscepticism – the range of critical arguments and sentiments against the economic and politica... more Euroscepticism – the range of critical arguments and sentiments against the economic and political project of the European Union – is on the rise across the 27 member states. As next year’s European Parliament elections are nearing, there is an increasing interest in the possible impact this will have on the makeup of the Parliament. But before we start such speculation it is worth asking whether we can treat Euroscepticism as a unitary concept? Is it a shared common denominator that allows parties across Europe to collaborate on a shared agenda? We argue that at least the Nordic version of Euroscepticism gives little indication of this being the case.
What role does storytelling play in right-wing populist parties? With a focus on the Finns Party ... more What role does storytelling play in right-wing populist parties? With a focus on the Finns Party and its leaders Timo Soini (1995–2017) and Jussi Halla-aho (2017–2021), this article depicts the narrative struggle that ensued when the Finns Party joined government in 2015 and exposes the challenges populist storytellers face when engaged in governing coalitions. Whereas Soini argued in favour of joining government and actively participating in broad, consensus-based policymaking, Halla-aho focused on directly challenging government by targeting migration as a key concern for party voters. These tensions culminated in the breakup of the party, where a small faction continued in government until 2019 while the mother party returned to the opposition. A storytelling perspective shows the importance of a credible truth-telling narrative in understanding far-right populist electoral success and demonstrates the challenges government responsibility presents for populist narrative credibility.
British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Apr 1, 2013
This book wrestles with a simple, yet problematic question: In the decade since the start of the ... more This book wrestles with a simple, yet problematic question: In the decade since the start of the pre-accession process, what impact has the European Union (EU) had on Turkish foreign policy? On the one hand, the answer might seem simple and obvious, for during this period there has been an unmissable transformation in Turkish foreign policy. On the other hand, it is notoriously difficult to determine causation and to say exactly how much of this shift can be attributed to the influence of the EU. With the aid of ‘Europeanisation’ as her analytical chisel, Özlem Terzi carves her way through the changes experienced among political actors and their foreign policy positions in Turkey and the makeover witnessed in foreign policy practice. Europeanisation remains a useful framework for assessing change and it is particularly applicable in situations where domestic actors experience a ‘misfit’ between their own existing practices and the expectations imposed on them by European-level standards. This situation presents two broad options. The actors either engage in a rational cost-benefit analysis of possible avenues of action, responding strategically, or they become convinced by the values of the new norms and internalise them as part of a new identity. This distinction in the possible motives underlying the Europeanisation of foreign policy is a crucial part of Terzi’s analysis: the more Turkey’s changing policy objectives can be explained as a rational cost-benefit calculation, the less influence we can assign to the EU as the force behind this change. The first part of the book focuses on the role of political actors, evaluating the changing foreign policy perceptions of political parties, governments, the military and civil society organisations. Here the influence of the EU has been mixed. The most distinct Europeanisation, in consequence of accession process-related conditionality, has occurred in the military sphere where power has been transferred to civilian institutions of the state. Similarly, the position of civil society organisations has been clearly strengthened by reforms enacted in consequence of the Copenhagen criteria. Terzi also points out that in the last decade Turkish governments have gradually become more proactive and solutionoriented in the foreign policy approach, thus internalising certain EU foreign policy norms. However, in this last regard the motivations behind change are more mixed as the re-focus in Turkish interests more widely across the Middle East in particular can also be seen as a strategy that avoids undue reliance on the EU in Turkey’s foreign policy portfolio. The second part of the book looks at ‘issues’ that have been consistently at the centre of Turkey’s foreign policy concerns: relations with Greece and Armenia, the Cyprus issue, relations with Middle East neighbours, and the role of the United States in defining Turkey’s foreign policy interests. In the case of Greece, Armenia and Cyprus the EU has had at least limited influence on Turkish policy objectives, since these are issues covered within the remit of the pre-accession process. However, given the emotive nature of the Armenian and Cypriot relations in particular, new policy approaches have also caused tensions and led to retractions of policy as the government has had to reposition itself in the face of domestic BOOK REVIEWS
Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy
Over the last 10 years, to no small degree, thanks to the work of the outgoing editors Zoë Irving... more Over the last 10 years, to no small degree, thanks to the work of the outgoing editors Zoë Irving and Kevin Farnsworth, the Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy (hereafter: the Journal) has positioned itself among the leading outlets for international and comparative social policy research.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of people’s lives worldwide, including the work of... more The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of people’s lives worldwide, including the work of social workers and the education of social work students. Field placements are a significant part of social work education, but during the pandemic they were cut short and most teachings moved online. The current mixed methods study examined the effects of social work education on social work students’ empathy and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic on the island of Ireland. A matched sample of forty-nine students completed an online survey at the start (T1) of their degree and at the end (T2). A further 229 students who only completed the T1 survey were compared to 70 others who only completed the T2 survey. The results showed improved resilience in the cohort comparison. There were no differences in empathy in the matched sample nor between the cohorts. Thematic analysis of students’ narratives showed that they found the switch to online learning difficult, with some reporting neg...
Formal social citizenship is limited in how it enables us to think about informal social citizens... more Formal social citizenship is limited in how it enables us to think about informal social citizenship and informal welfare. This informal perspective is important in all contexts where access to social rights is negotiated through local and transnational spaces, and where the state is a relatively minor player. By drawing on work on moral economy (Scott, 1976) and informal welfare (Gough and Wood, 2006) the article aims to propose a new theoretical model to understand the nature and social practice of both informal citizenship and welfare. This model departs from a western-centric understanding of nation-state-based citizenship and national welfare states, adopting instead the perspective that informal social citizenship and welfare have existed independently of the nation state as long as there have been human communities. Formal citizenship together with formal welfare rights represent just one particular crystallization of such informal practice. Our proposed model highlights the ...
This chapter investigates the relationship between far-right populism and social policy. The chap... more This chapter investigates the relationship between far-right populism and social policy. The chapter argues that an approach anchored in framing and policy narratives will yield new understandings of how far-right populist discourses have come to challenge social democratic and neoliberal welfare narratives. The new narrative challenges and denigrates the economic and political elite as self-serving and corrupt, claiming to represent the interest of the ‘people’ instead. In defining ‘people’, the interests of certain societal groups are prioritised on the bases of culture or ethnicity. Importantly for social policy, this chapter argues, in this universal social rights and social citizenship are reframed in ethno-nationalist and welfare chauvinist terms. The chapter draws upon the case of Sweden in order to briefly exemplify the discursive strategies at play.
We propose that populism is a storytelling performance that involves a charismatic truth-teller a... more We propose that populism is a storytelling performance that involves a charismatic truth-teller and a populist narrative frame. Populist narratives are sensemaking devices that guide people in areas of contestation, uncertainty and complexity where decisions cannot solely rely on rational and formal processes. Populist truth-tellers apply a particular narrative frame that pits people against the elite when interpreting complex problems such as climate change. The aim of this article is one of theory generating, using the cases of Donald Trump and Greta Thunberg to illustrate the idea of populism as storytelling. While their climate change stories are very different, both share an approach that relies on the truth-telling character of their hero, applying the same populist narrative frame. These findings add to our understanding of the role emotions and conflicts play in the struggles to make sense of climate change based on particular interests or political agendas
Euroscepticism – the range of critical arguments and sentiments against the economic and politica... more Euroscepticism – the range of critical arguments and sentiments against the economic and political project of the European Union – is on the rise across the 27 member states. As next year’s European Parliament elections are nearing, there is an increasing interest in the possible impact this will have on the makeup of the Parliament. But before we start such speculation it is worth asking whether we can treat Euroscepticism as a unitary concept? Is it a shared common denominator that allows parties across Europe to collaborate on a shared agenda? We argue that at least the Nordic version of Euroscepticism gives little indication of this being the case.
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Papers by Markus Ketola