The Political Economy of Political Extremism

The global resurgence of right-wing populism and political extremism poses a defining challenge to contemporary democratic governance and social cohesion. To understand this phenomenon beyond mere cultural or ideological shifts, this session adopts a political economy lens to examine the structural material conditions that fuel radical political movements. We welcome empirical and theoretical research papers that explore the complex intersections of economic insecurity, market transformations, and extremist political movements, and that shed light on counter-movements to political extremism in countries of the global North and South. By bringing together diverse methodological approaches, including comparative political economy, quantitative analysis, and in-depth qualitative case studies, this session aims to foster a critical dialogue on how macroeconomic structures reshape political activism and how social movements and civil society respond to the rise of political extremism. Ultimately, we seek to advance sociological scholarship on how the contradictions of contemporary capitalism manifest as political polarization and social movements from below. We encourage submissions from both established scholars and emerging researchers working across global, regional, or localized contexts to provide a comprehensive, multi-layered understanding of political extremism today.