Lecture by Jan Kubik and Jiří Kocián, May 22

Living under populism: Interpretive-structural coding and semantic network analysis of Czech and Polish ethnographic interviews

Jan Kubik (Professor, Department of Political Science, Rutgers University)Jiří Kocián (Lecturer, Department of Russian and East European Studies, FSV UK)

This presentation draws on two interrelated projects: a multidisciplinary study of right-wing populism in East Central Europe and a comparative analysis of Czech and Polish populisms. Together, the projects aim to develop a comprehensive theory of right-wing populism that accounts for both top-down (supply) and bottom-up (demand) processes. The talk focuses on the bottom-up cultural dimension, informed by extensive interview data collected in Czechia and Poland. In analysing this material, two methodological approaches are being developed - the interpretive-structural coding and semantic network analysis – with the goal of constructing a robust ontology of everyday meaning-making categories. The research follows an abductive logic, integrating empirical findings with existing theories of populism to uncover how everyday meaning-making contributes to the broader populist landscape in the region. The event is supported by the ERC Starting Grant 'Memory and Populism from Below' (MEMPOP)#101076092

22 MAY 2025
THURSDAY, 15.00-17.00 CET
INSTITUTE OF ETHNOLOGY, CAS
NA FLORENCI 3, PRAGUE 1
CONFERENCE ROOM, 5TH FLOOR

ONLINE LINK MS TEAMS: HERE

Download poster HERE