Media
2025
Paula Diehl in conversation with Michael Risel,Ralf Schuler and Michael Zürn at SWR Kultur
"Trump, Milei, AfD – How much populism can democracy stand?"
Paula Diehl im Spiegel Interview
"Populism is like the drunken guest at a dinner party"
2024
Paula Diehl bei Le Point J – Podcast (in french)
"C’est quoi le populisme?"
Donald Trump, recently elected as US president, is often called a populist. Just like Viktor Orban, Giorgia Meloni, Marine Le Pen or Jair Bolsonaro… But what exactly is populism? Paula Diehl, professor at Kiel University, enlightens us at Le Point J.
Interview with Paula Diehl
“Populists know how to use the media” (08.04.2024)
In this interview for LatAm Journalism Review, Paula Diehl talks about the structural affinity between the populist communication of politicians like Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro and Javier Milei and the media’s selection criteria. The media become accomplices of populist actors, she argues, because populism generates public attention.
Paula Diehl and Claus Leggewie discuss in Deutschlandradio's section "Streitkultur"
"Can populism also be a corrective?" (31.08.2025)
Paula Diehl warns against the normalization of far-right ideas
"In Bavaria, too, the AfD can be monitered by the Office for the Protection of the Constution" (02.07.2024)
Interview with Paula Diehl in Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim's ZDF talkshow "MAITHINK Xperts"
"Populismus in Politik und Medien" (28.02.2024)
What characterises populist rhetoric? When does it become a threat to democracy? Why is it compatible with the media's attention economy? Paula Diehl talks about populism in politics and in the media at MaiThink.
Paula Diehl on the question “With children to the demo?” on NDR
“Protest against right-wing extremism in Schleswig-Holstein” (07.02.2024)
In this NDR report, Paula Diehl argues that schoolchildren should also go to demonstrations against right-wing extremism and justifies this as follows “The opportunity to take to the streets with others for something - in this case tolerance and the principle of equality - takes them further. Later on, you can build on this and become politically active.”
Paula Diehl in an interview with NDR's Schleswig-Holstein Magazin
“How important are the demos against right-wing extremism?” (30.01.2024)
In this interview, Paula Diehl explains why it is important to take to the streets for democratic values and what social impact demonstrations against right-wing extremism can have.
Paula Diehl interviewed by Radio Eins (RBB)
“Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht: What is the party about?” (29.01.24)
In this interview, Paula Diehl talks about the populist tendencies of the newly founded party Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) and its attempt to combine left-wing and right-wing populist issues in its election program.
Paula Diehl in an interview with the Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag (SHZ)
“Protests against right-wing extremism - How endangered is our democracy?” (26.01.2024)
Political scientist Paula Diehl in conversation with journalist Inga Kausch about the demonstrations against right-wing extremism and the question of how endangered our democracy currently is.
Paula Diehl in the WDR 5 podcast “Politikum – Der Meinungspodcast”
“Right-wing populism in the Union (CDU/CSU)” (08.01.2024)
Radio journalist Carolin Courts interviews Paula Diehl about the right-wing populism of the CDU and CSU in the WDR 5 podcast “Politikum - Der Meinungspodcast”.
Paula Diehl in the MDR column “Das Altpapier"
“Plenty of airtime for enemies of democracy” (02.01.2024)
In this article, Paula Diehl talks to media journalist Annika Schneider about the role of the media in dealing with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and whether the right-wing populist party should continue to be given a media platform.
2023
"The Utopian Space – Contested Democracy"
Panel discussion with Carolin Amlinger, Brigitte Bargetz, Günter Frankenberg and Felix Trautmann (13.12.2023)
Paula Diehl in ORF Radio's programme "Punkt Eins"
"Global shift to the right - Wilders' electoral victory in the Netherlands as another puzzle piece in the worldwide rise of right-wing populism?" (28.11.2023)
In diesem Beitrag steht Paula Diehl, Professorin für Politische Theorie, Ideengeschichte und Politische Kultur an der Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel und Direktorin des Internationalen Netzwerks für Populismusforschung, im gemeinsamen Austausch mit dem Journalisten Xaver Forthuber und den Zuhörer*innen des ORF Radios. Zusammen sprechen sie über unterschiedliche Varianten rechter Politikstile in verschiedenen Staaten und über die Merkmale rechtspopulistischer Politik.
Paula Diehl in the SRF podcast "News Plus"
"Right-wing populism: Why this strategy works" (24.11.2023)
This episode of the "News Plus" podcast deals with the electoral victories of Geert Wilders (the Netherlands) and Javier Milei (Argentina), focusing on the question how right-wing populist politicians gain power. Paula Diehl discusses the ways in which right-wing populist discursive shifts work, as well as the societal consequences of right-wing populist in government.
Paula Diehl in Deutschlandfunk's media podcast "Nach Redaktionsschluss"
"What about 'Inländerfeindlichkeit'? - How the media report on the AfD" (27.10.2023)
In this podcast, the DLf listener Martin Krämer criticizes that news coverage on the AfD focuses too much on the party's xenophobia ('AUsländerfeindlichkeit'). However, the media should shed more light on the AfD's approach to pensions and social policy, which would have negative consequences for many citizens. Martin Krämer discusses this question with Spiegel editor Ann-Katrin Müller, populism researcher Paula Diehl and media journalist Michael Borgers.
Deutschlandfunk Interview with Paula Diehl
"Does society drift to the right?" (01.10.2023)
"What I consider much more dangerous is the imitation of the discourse and the party manifesto in mitigated form, because this is the strongest factor contributing to the normalization of the extreme right." This is Paula Diehls answer in Deutschlandfunk to the question about the repercussions of cooperative enactments in parliament with the support of the AfD. In this interview, Paula Diehl explains why the centre of German society is moving further to the right and efforts civil society would have to make in order to convince people with extreme right-wing attitudes about democratic values. Paula Diehl further argues that it is the task of media coverage to deconstruct right-wing discourses and expose their intentions.
Paula Diehl on the CPAC conference in Hungary
– Deutschlandfunk Nova
Paula Diehl in ORF Vorarlberg's "Focus" podcast
"The bodily enactment of populism" (21.01.2023)
In this episode of ORF Vorarlberg's "Focus" podcast, Paula Diehl gives a talk about the bodily encactment of populismus. The talk was recorded during the 'Monday forum' in St. Gallen.
2022
Roundtable "The time of right-wing populism"
With Ole Meinefeld, Johannes Kiess, Lea Liese and Carolin Wiedemann (13.12.2022)
The recent global rise of the far right is often described as a populist moment and a symptom of a (multiple) crisis. What is this moment about? Why are right-wing populists particularly successful at winning over voters in some crises, whereas they can also lose in popularity during other crises, such as the Corona pandemic? Ole Meinefeld from the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation discussed these questions with Johannes Kiess from the Else-Frenkel-Brunswik-Institute, Lea Liese from the University of Basel, and the journalist Carolin Wiedemann. The roundtable took place on 11 November 2022 at Kiel University in the context of the conference "The time of populism", organized in cooperation with the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation.
Paula Diehl about populism on social media and in the mass media
– MDR Medien 360G (01.08.2022)
Populism on social media and in the mass media “I believe populism will be with us for the next ten years,” says Paula Diehl, Professor of Political Theory, History of Ideas and Political Culture at Kiel University. She talks to MDR MEDIEN360G about populism in the mass media, emphasizing the role of social media and venturing a glimpse into the future of populism.
Paula Diehl on the political culture of resignation
– Deutschlandfunk (11.04.2022)
On listening and empathy with Brigitte Bargetz, the Ministerium für Mitgefühl (‘ministry of empathy’) and members of Rheinisches Landestheater Neuss
– Rheinisches Landestheater Neuss (04.03.2022)
What is empathy? Are compassion and empathy political? Can empathy be problematic? And what is the significance of empathy in artistic work? Christofer Schmidt and his guests explore these questions in an episode of ‘extraKLANG’, the podcast of Rheinisches Landestheater Neuss.
Populist or realistic? Paula Diehl on Bavarian premier Söder and the partial vaccine mandate
– BR Podcast (11.04.2022)
Today like this, tomorrow like that! Regarding mandatory vaccination, Premier Söder was uncertain and wanted to scrap a federal law. Critics accuse him of populism - his fellow party members say: he has a sense of reality. Paula Diehl, professor for political theory at Kiel University, takes a closer look at the to-ing and fro-ing.
2021
Between the leadership figure and the people: right-wing populist communications and the affective narrative of the betrayed people
– DVPW-Blog (17.12.2021)
Politics provides orientation, and orientation is particularly successful when it is conveyed in narrative form. Narrative, i.e. the act of telling political stories, evokes memories, processes political experiences and re(imagines) and legitimizes circumstances. Storytelling is always affective because it contextualizes feelings, makes emotional reactions visible and elicits affects. This interplay between the political, the affective and the narrative is also visible in the right-wing populism that is gaining strength today. Every form of populism develops a ‘narrative of the betrayed people’ (Diehl 2011; Taguieff 2007), which tells the story of reclaiming popular sovereignty with the help of a populist leadership figure. The narrative of right-wing populism does the same.
A blogpost by: Brigitte Bargetz, Paula Diehl and Nina Elena Eggers
Emotions as a tool – Brigitte Bargetz and Nina Elena Eggers in unizeit
– UNIZEIT, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (03.07.2021)
Talking to one another and telling stories is a fundamental human need because it triggers emotional responses in us – both positive and negative. Right-wing populism exploits this for its own purposes. A symposium at Kiel University explored how political narratives also use emotions to achieve their effects.
Author: Jennifer Ruske
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