The New Caesarism: a Lexicon

Reflections on the eve of the French election

Claire—I wrote this four years ago. I was reminded of it this morning when I read this excellent article by Françoise Thom: Melancholic reflections on the French elections.

Beyond Left and Right

The New Caesarism tends to overlap with, although it is not identical to, what is often described as the far-right. Because the term is in such wide use, I will use it too, but I point out that like “democracy,” it is a phrase that showcases the diminishment of our political vocabulary and with it, our ability to think usefully about politics. “I wish media outlets would stop referring to [Austria’s] FPO as a ‘populist, far-right’ party,” lamented an Austrian of Libyan descent. “They need to be called out for what they really are: a vicious, racist organisation that preys on the most vulnerable in society under the guise of patriotism.”[1] That description conveys more useful information than “populist, far-right,” but there more to it.