Urban Political Podcast · Ross Beveridge, Markus Kip, Mais Jafari, Nitin Bathla, Julio Paulos, Nicolas Goez, Talja Blokland

101 – Authoritarian Populism and the City

·1 hr 33 min·4 clips

Urban Political opens by situating authoritarian urbanism within a wider rightward populist turn that reshapes politics, everyday life, and the spaces people live in. It defines that conjuncture through state power, militarized violence, infrastructure-led development, and racialized and religious nationalism, while also pointing to democratic practices and refusals that push back against authoritarian rule. Gareth Fern then introduces the series and explains that it grew out of a special issue for Urban Studies on authoritarian turns within urban politics. From there, the conversation turns to Brazil. The speaker is asked how a conservative formation developed and became more intensely authoritarian. The answer stresses that international far-right networks matter for understanding the specificities of each country. Eduardo Bolsonaro is named as an example of political activity reaching into the United States, where he is trying to build sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Court ministers. The discussion also names Steve Bannon, Modi, Orban, Milei in Argentina, and Trump as part of that wider networked field. At the same time, the speaker insists that these links do not replace local explanation. People still have agency, and the central question is why they support these leaders. The search is for social and historical roots in different publics and in the messages and discourses that circulate among urban peripheral workers in big cities, especially São Paulo, where the fieldwork is based. Brazil’s military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985 provides the historical backdrop, and the redemocratization of the country plus the 1988 constitution are recalled as a moment when democracy seemed likely to bring new social rights. The episode then points listeners toward two more episodes that continue the series’ focus on authoritarian practices and liberalism.

As heard by us

A serious look at how authoritarian politics takes shape in the city.

The episode treats the rightward populist turn as a city problem, tying authoritarian urbanism to state power, militarized violence, infrastructure-led development, and racialized and religious nationalism.

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Why you'd press play

If you want a hard look at authoritarian urbanism and the politics shaping cities, press play.

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