T H E
SOCIAL
CODEX
Knowledge, Structured.
PRPD
Populist and Radical Political Discourses in
Europe
Complete Exam Study Guide
Open-book oral exam · 15 min prep + 15 min oral · June 2026
The Social Codex · Clear, structured summaries for social science students
,THE SOCIAL CODEX Knowledge, Structured.
Contents
Part 0 · How the exam works and how to use this guide ············································· 3
Format and what is graded ································································································· 3
A 4-move answer template (use it for almost any sub-question) ····················································· 4
Study workflow (from the closing class) ················································································ 4
Part 1 · The big picture: the map of the whole course ················································ 5
The two master-approaches································································································ 5
The course's thematic arc ·································································································· 5
Part 2 · The texts, in course order ········································································ 7
2.1 Mudde & Rovira Kaltwasser — the ideational approach ························································· 7
2.2 Stavrakakis & Katsambekis — discourse theory & left-wing populism (SYRIZA) ·························· 8
2.3 Baker — 'We the people': the battle to define populism ·························································· 9
2.4 De Cleen, Glynos & Mondon — populist politics vs the politics of 'populism' ····························· 10
2.5 Shroufi (guest lecture) — anti-populism and the far-right / non-far-right binary···························· 11
2.6 Populism vs nationalism: the discourse-theoretical framework + the farmers case ························· 12
2.7 Moffitt — the populism / anti-populism divide in Western Europe ··········································· 13
2.8 Goyvaerts (guest lecture) — anti-populism and media ························································· 14
2.9 Maly — algorithmic populism, datafication and gamification ················································· 15
2.10 Brown, Mondon & Winter — the far right, the mainstream and mainstreaming ·························· 16
2.11 Tarragoni — from populism to fascism? On our present-time political categories ························ 16
2.12 Peck — populist media style, Fox News, and the right's online dominance ································ 17
Part 3 · Connecting the texts (comparison matrices) ··············································· 19
3.1 Definitions of populism, side by side ·············································································· 19
3.2 Normative stance: pro-, ambivalent, or anti-populism? ························································· 19
3.3 Who argues with whom (the debate map)········································································· 20
3.4 One-line takeaway per text (memory anchors) ··································································· 20
Part 4 · Thematic syntheses (the axes for your own position) ····································· 22
4.1 Populism and democracy ···························································································· 22
4.2 Left vs right populism ······························································································· 22
4.3 Populism vs nationalism vs the far right ·········································································· 22
4.4 Anti-populism ········································································································· 22
4.5 Populism, the far right and the (hybrid) media system ·························································· 23
Part 5 · Key-concept glossary············································································ 24
Part 6 · Practice exam questions & model answers ················································· 26
2
,THE SOCIAL CODEX Knowledge, Structured.
Practice question 1 — ideational vs discursive ······································································· 26
Practice question 2 — anti-populism & the far right································································· 27
Practice question 3 — chain of equivalence & SYRIZA ···························································· 28
Part 7 · Quick-recall flashcards ········································································· 29
7.1 Definitions & core concepts ························································································ 29
7.2 Normative & debate ·································································································· 29
7.3 Media, cases & applications ························································································ 30
Final-day checklist ························································································· 31
This guide follows the course order. For every text you get: core argument, key concepts,
normative position, cross-text links, and answers to the guiding questions. It ends with
comparison tables, thematic syntheses, a glossary, practice exam questions with model
answers, and flashcards.
The exam asks one question with sub-questions that tests: (1) concepts & arguments of each text,
(2) connections across texts, (3) applying concepts to concrete cases, and (4) your own conceptual +
normative position.
Part 0 · How the exam works and how to use this guide
Format and what is graded
• 100% open-book oral exam: 15 minutes preparation + 15 minutes oral defence.
• Only printed/written notes and articles allowed — no laptop, tablet or phone. Bring this guide
printed, with your own annotations and post-its.
• You get ONE question with several sub-questions (a, b, c, …). It is built around a quotation or a
specific text, then opens outward.
• The question deliberately measures four things, usually in this rising order of difficulty:
• Knowledge of a single text — define its core concepts and reconstruct its argument.
• Connections across texts — who agrees/disagrees with whom, who cites whom, how definitions and
normative stances differ.
• Application to cases — use the concepts to analyse concrete populist politics or media/academic
discourse about populism.
• Your own position — which approach you find more convincing, conceptually AND normatively, and
why.
3
, THE SOCIAL CODEX Knowledge, Structured.
What examiners reward
Precision with concepts (thin ideology vs. discursive logic; populism vs. nationalism; far right vs.
populism).
Naming which text you are drawing on ("as De Cleen, Glynos & Mondon argue…") and citing
page/argument when you can.
Concrete, well-chosen examples — and being able to read the SAME example through two
approaches.
A clear, defensible personal stance that engages the strongest opposing view.
A 4-move answer template (use it for almost any sub-question)
• Define the key concept precisely, attributing it to its author/approach.
• Locate it in the debate (ideational vs. discursive; pro- vs. anti-populist).
• Illustrate with a concrete case (and, if asked, re-read it through the rival approach).
• Position yourself — agree/disagree, with one reason and one acknowledged objection.
Study workflow (from the closing class)
• Know and explain the core concepts/arguments of each text individually (use this guide's per-text
sections).
• Connect texts to each other: compare definitions and normative evaluations; track who criticises/cites
whom (use the matrices in Part 3).
• Apply concepts to concrete cases — note the authors' own examples and prepare 3–4 of your own (e.g.
Vlaams Belang, RN, SYRIZA, Trump/MAGA, Fox News, farmers' protests).
• Decide your own position on each major axis (Part 4 gives you the axes).
The Social Codex 4
SOCIAL
CODEX
Knowledge, Structured.
PRPD
Populist and Radical Political Discourses in
Europe
Complete Exam Study Guide
Open-book oral exam · 15 min prep + 15 min oral · June 2026
The Social Codex · Clear, structured summaries for social science students
,THE SOCIAL CODEX Knowledge, Structured.
Contents
Part 0 · How the exam works and how to use this guide ············································· 3
Format and what is graded ································································································· 3
A 4-move answer template (use it for almost any sub-question) ····················································· 4
Study workflow (from the closing class) ················································································ 4
Part 1 · The big picture: the map of the whole course ················································ 5
The two master-approaches································································································ 5
The course's thematic arc ·································································································· 5
Part 2 · The texts, in course order ········································································ 7
2.1 Mudde & Rovira Kaltwasser — the ideational approach ························································· 7
2.2 Stavrakakis & Katsambekis — discourse theory & left-wing populism (SYRIZA) ·························· 8
2.3 Baker — 'We the people': the battle to define populism ·························································· 9
2.4 De Cleen, Glynos & Mondon — populist politics vs the politics of 'populism' ····························· 10
2.5 Shroufi (guest lecture) — anti-populism and the far-right / non-far-right binary···························· 11
2.6 Populism vs nationalism: the discourse-theoretical framework + the farmers case ························· 12
2.7 Moffitt — the populism / anti-populism divide in Western Europe ··········································· 13
2.8 Goyvaerts (guest lecture) — anti-populism and media ························································· 14
2.9 Maly — algorithmic populism, datafication and gamification ················································· 15
2.10 Brown, Mondon & Winter — the far right, the mainstream and mainstreaming ·························· 16
2.11 Tarragoni — from populism to fascism? On our present-time political categories ························ 16
2.12 Peck — populist media style, Fox News, and the right's online dominance ································ 17
Part 3 · Connecting the texts (comparison matrices) ··············································· 19
3.1 Definitions of populism, side by side ·············································································· 19
3.2 Normative stance: pro-, ambivalent, or anti-populism? ························································· 19
3.3 Who argues with whom (the debate map)········································································· 20
3.4 One-line takeaway per text (memory anchors) ··································································· 20
Part 4 · Thematic syntheses (the axes for your own position) ····································· 22
4.1 Populism and democracy ···························································································· 22
4.2 Left vs right populism ······························································································· 22
4.3 Populism vs nationalism vs the far right ·········································································· 22
4.4 Anti-populism ········································································································· 22
4.5 Populism, the far right and the (hybrid) media system ·························································· 23
Part 5 · Key-concept glossary············································································ 24
Part 6 · Practice exam questions & model answers ················································· 26
2
,THE SOCIAL CODEX Knowledge, Structured.
Practice question 1 — ideational vs discursive ······································································· 26
Practice question 2 — anti-populism & the far right································································· 27
Practice question 3 — chain of equivalence & SYRIZA ···························································· 28
Part 7 · Quick-recall flashcards ········································································· 29
7.1 Definitions & core concepts ························································································ 29
7.2 Normative & debate ·································································································· 29
7.3 Media, cases & applications ························································································ 30
Final-day checklist ························································································· 31
This guide follows the course order. For every text you get: core argument, key concepts,
normative position, cross-text links, and answers to the guiding questions. It ends with
comparison tables, thematic syntheses, a glossary, practice exam questions with model
answers, and flashcards.
The exam asks one question with sub-questions that tests: (1) concepts & arguments of each text,
(2) connections across texts, (3) applying concepts to concrete cases, and (4) your own conceptual +
normative position.
Part 0 · How the exam works and how to use this guide
Format and what is graded
• 100% open-book oral exam: 15 minutes preparation + 15 minutes oral defence.
• Only printed/written notes and articles allowed — no laptop, tablet or phone. Bring this guide
printed, with your own annotations and post-its.
• You get ONE question with several sub-questions (a, b, c, …). It is built around a quotation or a
specific text, then opens outward.
• The question deliberately measures four things, usually in this rising order of difficulty:
• Knowledge of a single text — define its core concepts and reconstruct its argument.
• Connections across texts — who agrees/disagrees with whom, who cites whom, how definitions and
normative stances differ.
• Application to cases — use the concepts to analyse concrete populist politics or media/academic
discourse about populism.
• Your own position — which approach you find more convincing, conceptually AND normatively, and
why.
3
, THE SOCIAL CODEX Knowledge, Structured.
What examiners reward
Precision with concepts (thin ideology vs. discursive logic; populism vs. nationalism; far right vs.
populism).
Naming which text you are drawing on ("as De Cleen, Glynos & Mondon argue…") and citing
page/argument when you can.
Concrete, well-chosen examples — and being able to read the SAME example through two
approaches.
A clear, defensible personal stance that engages the strongest opposing view.
A 4-move answer template (use it for almost any sub-question)
• Define the key concept precisely, attributing it to its author/approach.
• Locate it in the debate (ideational vs. discursive; pro- vs. anti-populist).
• Illustrate with a concrete case (and, if asked, re-read it through the rival approach).
• Position yourself — agree/disagree, with one reason and one acknowledged objection.
Study workflow (from the closing class)
• Know and explain the core concepts/arguments of each text individually (use this guide's per-text
sections).
• Connect texts to each other: compare definitions and normative evaluations; track who criticises/cites
whom (use the matrices in Part 3).
• Apply concepts to concrete cases — note the authors' own examples and prepare 3–4 of your own (e.g.
Vlaams Belang, RN, SYRIZA, Trump/MAGA, Fox News, farmers' protests).
• Decide your own position on each major axis (Part 4 gives you the axes).
The Social Codex 4
