This special issue addresses different cultural and symbolic elements of politics and populism, including music, emotions, narratives, discourses and frames, and visual symbols repertoires from popular culture, bringing together contributions that explore their empirical manifestations in several European countries and beyond. Each contribution is a stand-alone article in which the author has selected one or more key elements of the analytical framework and applied it to their selected countries and populist political actors. This special issue aims to combine an analytical perspective with an empirical focus on current populism(s) in Europe and their cultural aspects. It consists of twelve contributions and a research note. In conclusion, this special issue provides an important contribution to the analysis of contemporary variants of populism (left wing vs. right wing; parties vs. movements; radical-subcultures vs. moderate/mainstream) within the European context and beyond. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of multi-causal analytical frameworks that pay proper attention to the production and re-production of contextual opportunities and organizational resources through symbolic elements such as music.

The contributors of the special issue are: Manuela Caiani (Scuola Normale Superiore ) and Enrico Padoan (Scuola Normale Superiore); Pierre Ostiguy (University of Valparaíso); Paris Aslanidis (Yale University); Donatella Bonansinga (University of Birmingham); Emmy Eklundh (Cardiff University); Paolo Magaudda (University of Padua); Loris Caruso (Scuola Normale Superiore); Giorgia Bulli (University of Florence); Ofra Klein (University of Florence); Valeria Dessì (University of Cagliari); Linus Westheuser (Scuola Normale Superiore); Francesca Feo (Scuola Normale Superiore) and Måns Robert Lundstedt (Scuola Normale Superiore); Angela Adami (Scuola Normale Superiore).