British Journal of Politics & International Relations
Does populism challenge the status quo? Understanding transgression and subversion in contemporary politics
2026-07-30
This article argues that we need to distinguish between transgression and subversion in order to fully understand populism and contemporary politics more generally. We make three key contributions. First, we revisit contemporary scholarship on transgression, arguing that existing distinctions between different forms of norm-breaking do not fully explain their markedly different political effects. Second, drawing on psychoanalysis, particularly the concepts of fantasy and enjoyment, we foreground the role of affective and libidinal investment in shaping political identification. From this perspective, transgression may reaffirm the socio-normative order rather than challenge it. Third, we introduce the concept of subversion to offer greater analytical granularity when studying political movements and parties that challenge the status quo. While transgression may revitalise the norm through the enjoyment generated by its violation, subversion loosens the affective attachments through which socio-normative arrangements acquire their grip. By disentangling transgression from subversion, we call for a more fine-grained understanding of populist politics and advocate a rethinking of what subversive politics means today.