It is largely undisputed that the recent rise of populist-nationalist and far-right parties in Europe, the US, and other parts of the globe poses a challenge to democracies. However, “populism’s toxic embrace of nationalism,” as Lawrence Rosenthal calls it, is more than a party-political or economic phenomenon. Over the last 15 years, Europe has seen large-scale cultural transformations, which remain for the most part unexplored. Regarding music as a ubiquitous cultural practice, this conference addresses such cultural changes from three music-oriented perspectives.
The conference is part of the international and interdisciplinary project “Popular Music and the Rise of Populism in Europe” – funded by the Volkswagen Foundation since 2019.