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New Research on Europe Seminar & Weatherhead Research Cluster on Comparative Inequality and Inclusion

Book Talk | Insecurity Politics: How Unstable Lives Lead to Populist Support


April 7, 2026
4:00pm - 6:00pm
CGIS Knafel K262, 1737 Cambridge Street Directions

New Research on Europe Seminar & Weatherhead Research Cluster on Comparative Inequality and Inclusion

Book Talk | Insecurity Politics: How Unstable Lives Lead to Populist Support


April 7, 2026
4:00pm - 6:00pm
CGIS Knafel K262, 1737 Cambridge Street Directions
April 7, 2026
4:00pm - 6:00pm
CGIS Knafel K262, 1737 Cambridge Street Directions

*Please note: this event will take place at CGIS Knafel K262.*

Join us for a conversation with Lorenza Antonucci on her recent book Insecurity Politics: How Unstable Lives Lead to Populist Support (Princeton University Press, 2026) which examines the everyday experiences that underpin rising political disaffection across Europe.

Challenging reductive portrayals of populist voters as simply “left behind,” Antonucci's book focuses on the ordinary yet increasingly precarious realities of work and financial instability. Drawing on comparative quantitative and qualitative research across nine European countries, Antonucci highlights the micro-level material and cultural dynamics that fuel anti-establishment politics in both right- and left-wing movements.

Bridging economic and cultural explanations, Insecurity Politics advances a new framework for understanding contemporary populism, moving beyond accounts centered solely on cultural backlash or globalization. Antonucci will explore how economic insecurity, workplace dissatisfaction, and broader social forces shape receptivity to populist appeals, and what a more grounded understanding of these dynamics might imply for a renewed political agenda.

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