Honors College Theses

Publication Date

2026

Major

Political Science (B.S.)

Release Option

Open Access

Faculty Mentor

Dr. William Biebuyck

Abstract

This thesis examines to what extent populism has become a political force across rural and agrarian communities in the European Union from 2023 to 2026. It distinguishes between ‘structural’ shifts, meaning the broader transformations in agrarian political economy, and ‘policy’ shifts, meaning the cumulative impact of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform, notably its welfarist and regulatory priorities. This study draws on two types of evidence. First, it pulls from a wide range of secondary sources on the CAP and agrarian political transformation. Second, it analyzes the position papers, statements, and digital media of three organizations that represent important farming constituencies in Europe: Copa-Cogeca (CC), European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC), and the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA). The study applies Fairclough’s three-dimensional approach to a Critical Discourse Analysis. It asks how each organization assesses and critiques the outlined structural shifts, and how closely their narratives resemble a populist oppositional message. In doing so, it tests the fit of traditional definitions of populism, which were developed around working class, industrial, Euroskeptic, and identity driven politics, against rural and agrarian mobilization, and considers the societal implications of these dynamics.

Thesis Summary

This paper assess the extent to which the agrarian backlash enacted by European farmers in reaction to new CAP regulations constitutes as a populist oppositional movement. 

Copyright

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