Populism in Comparative Context
Lead Investigator: Tina Burrett, Ext: 4042, Email: tburrett@sophia.ac.jp.
Participants:
ICC Members:
Koichi Nakano, knakano@sophia.ac.jp
Sven Saaler, saaler@sophia.ac.jp
External Participants:
Jeff Kingston, Temple University Japan Jeffrey.kingston@tuj.temple.edu (confirmed)
Alexis Dudden, University of Connecticut (confirmed)
Student Participants:
Michelle Sta. Romana
Bruno Spee
Members Roles:
Tina Burrett is the unit organiser. Tina Burrett and Jeff Kingston will edit a collected volume on Populism in Asia (Routledge 2028). ICC and external members will participant in workshops and colloquia as presenters and discussants. Some members and participants will also contribute chapters to the edited volume.
Project Goals:
The main goal of the proposed research unit is to foster transdisciplinary research on populism in Asia among ICC members and external collaborators at universities both in Japan and abroad. By bringing together researchers from across disciplines—including in political science, history, anthropology, sociology and art history—we aim to uncover new insights to a topic that is usually considered through a single lens. Populist politicians and parties are winning power across Asia, upending long established political norms. Our project will investigate the congruence of local, regional and global factors accounting for this surge in support for populism in countries as diverse as Japan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Our research will include studies of often overlooked cases, such as Nepal and Bangladesh. It will also include thematic analysis, considering the influence of transnational issues such as environmentalism, human rights, gender, religious extremism, media technology and transitional justice on the rise of populism in Asia and beyond.
In the past year, the ousting of Korea’s president Yoon, Sanseitō’s electoral surge in Japan and mass anti-corruption protests in Nepal, all point to common populist trends that demand greater analysis. To better understand recent developments, our project will consider the legacy of earlier populist movements, as well as the weaponisng of both domestic and regional history in the populist cause.
The proposed unit’s main activities in 2026-2027 will comprise a series of workshops and a colloquium. In addition to the unit’s members and guest speakers, GPGS students will be invited to participate in these events. The unit’s work will culminated in publication of an edited volume on Populism in Asia, planned for publication by Routledge in 2028.
For the coming academic year, we are requesting support from the ICC to fund workshops and colloquia, travel cost for invited speakers, fieldwork and conference participation for unit members. In 2027-2028, we will also seek support for editorial work towards publication of the edited volume.
Expected Research Output:
2026-2027
Workshops, Colloquia and Conference Panel Presentations: In the first year of the project, we plan two workshop (one per semester) each focused on a different theme. The first will focus on Populism in East Asia, looking at contemporary and historical populist movements in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The second on Populism in Comparative Context and will focus on the influence of global populist trends on developments in Asia. A colloquium is also planned for the autumn semester 2026 (tentatively in December). Book contributors will be encouraged to join this event. The specific topic for the colloquium will be decided based on our evolving interests and discussions at the earlier workshops. Members of the unit will also present their preliminary research at the AAS-in-Asia conference in summer 2026.
2027-2028
Book publication and promotion: Activities in this academic year will primarily focus on preparing the proposed book for publication. The book will comprise approximately 20 chapters of 8,000-10,000 words (the format of the book is currently under discussion with Routledge who have accepted our preliminary proposal inclusion in their Handbook Series). We are confident that can meet the deadlines set out below. Editors Tina Burrett and Jeff Kingston have co-edited three past volumes and collaborated on more than a dozen academic projects. The editors have also worked with many of the book’s contributors (e.g. Nakano, Ikeda, Dudden) on past publications.
Chapter contributors will include:
Koichi Nakano, Sophia (Japan)
Mari Miura, Sophia (Gender)
Marcus Mietzner, ANU (Indonesia)
Vanessa Hearman, Curtain (East Timor)
Amran Hossain, Dhaka (Bangladesh)
Neil Devotta, Wake Forst (Sri Lanka)
Alexis Dudden, Connecticut (Korea)
Asato Ikeda (Art and Gender)
The publication timeline for the proposed book is as follows:
December 2026—Chapters submitted to the editors by contributors
March 2027—Editors return chapters to contributors for editing
June 2027—Manuscript submitted to the publisher
October 2027—Publisher returns manuscript to the editors with queries. Queries sent out to contributors.
November 2027—Contributors return corrected chapters.
January 2028—Publisher sends proofs to editors/contributors. Editors commission indexing.
February 2028—Corrected proofs and index returned to the publisher.
June 2028—Book publication.
The editors plan two book talks in late 2028/early 2029, one at Sophia University and another at an international venue (tentatively Cambridge University).
Connection to Existing Projects:
This will be the first year of the proposed research unit. The planned research grew out of the unit lead’s research on populism in Russia and her collaborative work on trauma, memory and nationalism with Jeff Kingston, Alexis Dudden, Koichi Nakano and Sven Saaler. The research is also connected to the unit lead’s current JSPS kaken project (2025-2030, grant number 25K04943) on democratic backsliding in Asia and the former Soviet Union.
Illustration：The Pied Piper of Hameln