This project aims to investigate the main features of religious populism with a focus on emotions in Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan. Through multiple analytical methods that examine populist statements and interviews with voters, it will advance theoretical and empirical knowledge on religious populism, particularly in relation to emotive political mobilisation and polarisation.

The expected outcomes are benchmark data sets and conceptual frameworks that can be used in other contexts where religious populism poses a danger to democracy. This will help democratic governments better understand religious populism so that they can generate effective policies to deal with any potential negative effects.

Research Team

Professor Ihsan Yilmaz Research Chair in Islamic Studies and Intercultural Dialogue and Deputy Director, Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation
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Professor Greg Barton Chair In Global Islamic Politics
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Dr Zahid Ahmed Honorary Fellow
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Project Funding

This project is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC).