Discourse versus practice

Inclusion, professionalization and exclusion in three European radical left parties

Abstract

Based on a series of interviews with activists from Podemos in Spain, Syriza in Greece and La France insoumise, this article looks at the mechanisms of inclusion implemented in the radical left parties emerging in Europe from the mid-2010s onwards. With the aim of doing politic differently, these parties aim to integrate various segments of the population that have hitherto been poorly represented. The testimonies presented suggest a gap between the discourse of these parties and the reality of the forms of political engagement they propose. Despite the effort made to select their public figures on the basis of representativeness, the selection dynamic at work tends to progressively exclude a proportion of activists.