Citizenship in comparative perspective: populism in Rio de Janeiro and in Quebec

Populists (re)orient social identities by creating a dichotomous perspective in which certain groups are selected to be a menace. How is this phenomenon possible in so different contexts? A cultural and an identity turn seems to be a necessary condition for the success of populism. This phenomenon is better seen at how candidates consider racial groups as ideal citizens and other as subcitizens. Critical Discourse Analysis helped to elucidate social-hierarchies and power relations towards racialized groups in Quebec and in Rio de Janeiro during 2018 elections. This framework deepens our comprehension on the complex causality of populism by focusing on citizenship.