Deconstructing Populism

Often blurred, sometimes defensive, rarely analytical. My bachelor's thesis is a personal approach to the topic – with a particular focus on the right-wing spectrum.

I am interested in how language shifts social boundaries, how it excludes, exaggerates and simplifies. The transitions between populist rhetoric and openly racist statements are often fluid: terms are shifted, meanings blurred, boundaries moved. Populists manage to simplify complex social problems to the point where they seem understandable and tangible – at least at first glance. That's exactly what makes it so dangerous. Because whoever controls the language also controls the interpretation. And whoever controls the interpretation influences reality.

I have made the results of this exploration spatially accessible. Going back through all my research material – notes, sketches, fragments of thought – I developed a spatial concept that makes central terms and linguistic patterns visible. The space itself functions like an oversized note: a walk-in world of thoughts in which my exploration unfolds not only through content but also through the process behind it. The content structure follows the two key areas of my research – the foundations of populism and the linguistic strategies – translated into two thematic areas. Instead of traditional exhibition texts, the content is conveyed through a notebook-style design: handwritten comments, highlights, arrows. A deliberately subjective approach – open, multidimensional and without a fixed direction.

To document the process, the notes, reflections, and collected research were compiled into a book – capturing both the content and the path that led there in one cohesive publication.