![Emmy Eklundh](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/2279?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Emmy Eklundh
Senior Lecturer in Politics
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I joined Cardiff University in January 2020. Prior to this appointment, I was a Lecturer in Spanish and International Politics at King's College London.
I hold a PhD in Politics from the University of Manchester (2015), an MA in International Relations: Global Governance and Social Theory from the University of Bremen, Germany (2011), and two BAs in Political Science and Latin from Lund University, Sweden (2009).
My research is located in the interface between European Politics and political and social theory. I'm particularly interested in social movements and political parties on the left, and especially cases of left-wing populism in Southern Europe. I use radical democratic frameworks to further our understanding of democracy in Europe, the challenges to our current liberal order, but also the possibilities for democratic reform.
Current research projects include left-wing populist responses to nationalism, and resistance to European integration from the left. I also have a strong interest in the role of social media for political action, and how emotions and affect influence the way we think about political identities.
I regularly contribute to media outlets on discussions on Spanish politics and populism (including the BBC, CNN, Sky News, CNBC, Swedish national radio, Newsweek)
Publication
2025
- Eklundh, E. and Ronderos, S. 2025. Studying affect through discourse theory: Towards a methodology of practice. Journal of Language and Politics (10.1075/jlp.24197.ekl)
2024
- Eklundh, E., Stengel, F. and Wojczewski, T. 2024. Why there is no "populist" foreign policy. [Online]. London School of Economics. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2024/11/06/why-there-is-no-populist-foreign-policy/
- Eklundh, E., Stengel, F. and Wojczewski, T. 2024. Left populism and foreign policy: Bernie Sanders and Podemos. International Affairs 100(5), pp. 1899-1918. (10.1093/ia/iiae137)
- Eklundh, E. 2024. Populism and emotions. In: Stavrakakis, Y. and Katsambekis, G. eds. Research Handbook on Populism. Edward Elgar Publishing
- Eklundh, E. 2024. Is there a left-wing illiberalism?. In: Laruelle, M. ed. The Oxford Handbook of Illiberalism. Oxford University Press, (10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197639108.013.8)
2022
- Eklundh, E. 2022. Questioning European Democracy? Versions of representation in the 15M movement and Podemos. Journal of Iberian and Latin American Research 28(3), pp. 335-349. (10.1080/13260219.2022.2170729)
- Eklundh, E. and Tavares Furtado, H. 2022. Populism or the European condition. Journal for the Study of Radicalism 16(2), pp. 21-38.
- Eklundh, E. 2022. Emotions, populism and the politics of the everyday. [Online]. University of Coimbra. Available at: https://unpop.ces.uc.pt/en/emotions-populism-and-the-politics-of-the-everyday/
2021
- Eklundh, E. and illiberalism.org, . 2021. Emmy Eklundh on left-wing illiberalism. [Online]. The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Available at: https://www.illiberalism.org/emmy-eklundh-on-left-wing-illiberalism/
- Eklundh, E. 2021. Mad Marx? Rethinking emotions, euroscepticism and nationalism in the populist left. Journal of Contemporary European Research 17(2), pp. 206-223. (10.30950/jcer.v17i2.1182)
2020
- Eklundh, E. 2020. Spain [section in Populism and the Pandemic: A Collaborative Report]. University of Thessaloniki. Available at: http://www.populismus.gr/interventions/
- Eklundh, E. 2020. Excluding emotions: The performative function of populism. Partecipazione e Conflitto 13(1), pp. 107-131. (10.1285/i20356609v13i1p107)
- Eklundh, E. 2020. Why populists aren't mad. In: Eklundh, E. and Knott, A. eds. The Populist Manifesto. London: Rowman and Littlefield International, pp. 71-82.
- Eklundh, E. and Knott, A. eds. 2020. The Populist Manifesto. Rowman and Littlefield International.
2019
- Eklundh, E. 2019. Our damned weakness: Tensions between reason and emotion in Podemos. In: Cossarini, P. and Vallespín, F. eds. Populism and Passions: Democratic Legitimacy After Austerity. Routledge Advances in Democratic Theory New York: Routledge, pp. 67-81., (10.4324/9781351205474-5)
- Eklundh, E. 2019. Emotions, protest, democracy: Collective identities in contemporary Spain. Routledge Advances in Democratic Theory. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. (10.4324/9781351205719)
2017
- Eklundh, E. 2017. Populism, hegemony, and the phantasmatic sovereign: The ties between nationalism and left-wing populism. In: García Agustín, ?. and Briziarelli, M. eds. Podemos and the New Political Cycle. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 123-146., (10.1007/978-3-319-63432-6_6)
- Eklundh, E. 2017. Catalonia crisis shows Spain’s constitution is no longer fit for purpose. The Conversation 2017(26 Oct), pp. -.
- Eklundh, E., Zevnik, A. and Guittet, E. eds. 2017. Politics of anxiety. London: Rowman and Littlefield International.
2016
- Eklundh, E. 2016. El soberano fantasmático: Las implicaciones políticas de la apropiación de Laclau por parte de Podemos. Relaciones Internacionales 31, pp. 111-136.
2015
- Eklundh, E. 2015. New challenges for democracy: The continuing deadlocks between theory and practice. European Political Science 14(3), pp. 358-360. (10.1057/eps.2015.35)
- Eklundh, E. and Turnbull, N. 2015. Political sociology. In: Bevir, M. and Rhodes, R. A. W. eds. Routledge Handbook of Interpretive Political Science. London: Routledge, pp. 298-308., (10.4324/9781315725314-30)
2014
- Eklundh, E. 2014. Who is speaking? The Indignados as political subjects. Global Discourse / Global Discourse: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Current Affairs and Applied Contemporary Thought 4(2-3), pp. 223-235. (10.1080/23269995.2014.910058)
Articles
- Eklundh, E. and Ronderos, S. 2025. Studying affect through discourse theory: Towards a methodology of practice. Journal of Language and Politics (10.1075/jlp.24197.ekl)
- Eklundh, E., Stengel, F. and Wojczewski, T. 2024. Left populism and foreign policy: Bernie Sanders and Podemos. International Affairs 100(5), pp. 1899-1918. (10.1093/ia/iiae137)
- Eklundh, E. 2022. Questioning European Democracy? Versions of representation in the 15M movement and Podemos. Journal of Iberian and Latin American Research 28(3), pp. 335-349. (10.1080/13260219.2022.2170729)
- Eklundh, E. and Tavares Furtado, H. 2022. Populism or the European condition. Journal for the Study of Radicalism 16(2), pp. 21-38.
- Eklundh, E. 2021. Mad Marx? Rethinking emotions, euroscepticism and nationalism in the populist left. Journal of Contemporary European Research 17(2), pp. 206-223. (10.30950/jcer.v17i2.1182)
- Eklundh, E. 2020. Excluding emotions: The performative function of populism. Partecipazione e Conflitto 13(1), pp. 107-131. (10.1285/i20356609v13i1p107)
- Eklundh, E. 2017. Catalonia crisis shows Spain’s constitution is no longer fit for purpose. The Conversation 2017(26 Oct), pp. -.
- Eklundh, E. 2016. El soberano fantasmático: Las implicaciones políticas de la apropiación de Laclau por parte de Podemos. Relaciones Internacionales 31, pp. 111-136.
- Eklundh, E. 2015. New challenges for democracy: The continuing deadlocks between theory and practice. European Political Science 14(3), pp. 358-360. (10.1057/eps.2015.35)
- Eklundh, E. 2014. Who is speaking? The Indignados as political subjects. Global Discourse / Global Discourse: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Current Affairs and Applied Contemporary Thought 4(2-3), pp. 223-235. (10.1080/23269995.2014.910058)
Book sections
- Eklundh, E. 2024. Populism and emotions. In: Stavrakakis, Y. and Katsambekis, G. eds. Research Handbook on Populism. Edward Elgar Publishing
- Eklundh, E. 2024. Is there a left-wing illiberalism?. In: Laruelle, M. ed. The Oxford Handbook of Illiberalism. Oxford University Press, (10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197639108.013.8)
- Eklundh, E. 2020. Why populists aren't mad. In: Eklundh, E. and Knott, A. eds. The Populist Manifesto. London: Rowman and Littlefield International, pp. 71-82.
- Eklundh, E. 2019. Our damned weakness: Tensions between reason and emotion in Podemos. In: Cossarini, P. and Vallespín, F. eds. Populism and Passions: Democratic Legitimacy After Austerity. Routledge Advances in Democratic Theory New York: Routledge, pp. 67-81., (10.4324/9781351205474-5)
- Eklundh, E. 2017. Populism, hegemony, and the phantasmatic sovereign: The ties between nationalism and left-wing populism. In: García Agustín, ?. and Briziarelli, M. eds. Podemos and the New Political Cycle. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 123-146., (10.1007/978-3-319-63432-6_6)
- Eklundh, E. and Turnbull, N. 2015. Political sociology. In: Bevir, M. and Rhodes, R. A. W. eds. Routledge Handbook of Interpretive Political Science. London: Routledge, pp. 298-308., (10.4324/9781315725314-30)
Books
- Eklundh, E. and Knott, A. eds. 2020. The Populist Manifesto. Rowman and Littlefield International.
- Eklundh, E. 2019. Emotions, protest, democracy: Collective identities in contemporary Spain. Routledge Advances in Democratic Theory. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. (10.4324/9781351205719)
- Eklundh, E., Zevnik, A. and Guittet, E. eds. 2017. Politics of anxiety. London: Rowman and Littlefield International.
Monographs
- Eklundh, E. 2020. Spain [section in Populism and the Pandemic: A Collaborative Report]. University of Thessaloniki. Available at: http://www.populismus.gr/interventions/
Websites
- Eklundh, E., Stengel, F. and Wojczewski, T. 2024. Why there is no "populist" foreign policy. [Online]. London School of Economics. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2024/11/06/why-there-is-no-populist-foreign-policy/
- Eklundh, E. 2022. Emotions, populism and the politics of the everyday. [Online]. University of Coimbra. Available at: https://unpop.ces.uc.pt/en/emotions-populism-and-the-politics-of-the-everyday/
- Eklundh, E. and illiberalism.org, . 2021. Emmy Eklundh on left-wing illiberalism. [Online]. The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Available at: https://www.illiberalism.org/emmy-eklundh-on-left-wing-illiberalism/
Research
Research interests and projects
My research is located in the interface between European Politics and political and social theory. I'm particularly interested in social movements and political parties on the left, and especially cases of left-wing populism in Southern Europe. I use radical democratic frameworks to further our understanding of democracy in Europe, the challenges to our current liberal order, but also the possibilities for democratic reform. I'm currently pursuing three projects:
The first project is the completion of my second monograph, Europe's Populist Condition, to be published by Bristol University Press in 2025.
The second project, entitled Constructing Contemporary Labour Struggles, is run together with colleagues at the University of Bremen, Germany, and investiages the political subjectivities in current strike actions.
The third project, Reaction from the left, concerns the rise of nationalist sentiment within social democratic parties in Scandinavia.
Research networks
I'm currently a founding member of the Reactionary Politics Research Network, which brings together researchers to study and tackle the rise of exclusionary, authoritarian and reactionary politics. We have been awarded GW4 funding in 2024.
From 2016-2022, I was the co-convener of the Populism Specialist Group at the Political Studies Association. I have also been a project consultant for UNpacking POPulism: comparing emotion narratives effects on political behaviour (UNPOP), funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology; a founding member of the European Network of Populism Research together with the Central Bank of Malta.
Service
I have experience of reviewing for numerous journals, presses and funding bodies (such as Political Studies Review, Politics, Manchester University Press, the Leverhulme Trust, Bristol University Press).
Teaching
I teach introductory politics modules, a PG module on European Integration, and a module on populism in Europe. I'm a Fellow of Advance HE and obtained a Postgraduate Certificate of Academic Practice at King's College London in 2017.
Introduction to Government (1st year)
The Politics of Populism in Europe (3rd year)
Cooperation and Integration in Europe: Themes and Debates (postgraduate)
Biography
I joined Cardiff University in January 2020. Prior to this appointment, I was a Lecturer in Spanish and International Politics at King's College London.
I hold a PhD in Politics from the University of Manchester (2015), an MA in International Relations: Global Governance and Social Theory from the University of Bremen, Germany (2011), and two BAs in Political Science and Latin from Lund University, Sweden (2009).
Supervisions
I welcome requests for supervision in any areas of research listed in my profile. I'm especially interested in projects on
- Populism
- Emotions and rationality in politics
- Social movements and political parties of the left
- The politics of Southern Europe
- Social media and politics