Introduction: Varieties of Populism in Europe After the Great Recession

Discourses and demands provides the contributions gathered in this issue with analytical leverage regarding the commonalities and differences of populism in Western and Southern Europe. Furthermore, the fact that most comparative works touching upon this field of research have either focused on Central and Northern European cases (as in Kriesi et al 2008) or on a restrictive set of Southern European cases (often strictly focusing on third wave democracies, that is, on Spain, Portugal and Greece), underscores the interest of the works presented in this special issue.