Aslanidis’s publication explores the concept of populism from a divergent perspective: a bottom-up approach that focuses on populist grassroots movements instead of political parties, leaders, or organisations. The book acknowledges that a significant gap exists between the level of attention given to the concept by social movements scholars (very limited) and political scientists (extensive). According to Aslanidis, this disparity stems from negative connotations associated with populism dating back to the 1950s, which portray it as irrational, dangerous, anti-democratic, and anti-liberal and often linked to xenophobia, racism, nativism, and anti-Semitism. The author wishes to decouple this obstructive sentiment by arguing that moral political arguments have helped shape the current democratic climate and that populist supporters should not be automatically labelled as anti-democratic or as holding illegitimate political claims. To analyse the structure of populist mobilisation, he examines the Icelandic Pots and Pans Revolution and the Greek Indignados.

Following an introductory chapter that sets the goals of the book, the second chapter explores the reasons for the toxicity of the concept in the field of sociology. It tracks the evolution of populism, from the establishment of the American People’s party in the 1890s, which originated in the south and midwest, and was founded as part of an agrarian movement fuelled by widespread discontent. Farmers faced increased economic challenges, and their resentment grew against the perceived privileged eastern elites. The temporary and modest success of the party was praised by American historians and sociologists as pioneering progressive and inclusive politics, which contributed to aspects of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. However, following the events of the Second World War and the start of the Cold War, that positive perspective changed. Reasons for this dramatic switch include the distrust of mass mobilisation after the horrors of Nazism and Fascism, the tendency to analyse political behaviour in psychoanalytical terms, the need to present the USA as a class- and conflict-free society, and the growing fear of McCarthyism. Exemplified by American historian Richard Hofstadter, populism was portrayed as irrational, paranoid, conspiracist, and bigoted.

The third chapter lays the foundations of the theoretical model for the study of populist social movements. Following a review of different approaches and their potential weaknesses, Aslanidis specifies his viewpoint, which is based on a discursive and constructivist analysis, and focuses specifically on the theory of collective action framing. Its central premise is that external events do not automatically generate a shared interpretation among individuals. Rather, strategic political and community actors actively construct meaning by interpreting events, engaging with the public, competing with alternative narratives, and negotiating to impose their own framing of social reality.

The construct of the collective action frame is based on three core tasks, which Aslanidis modifies for the study of populist mobilisation: diagnostic action, the articulation of an unjust situation that needs to be resolved; prognostic action, the proposal of solutions to overcome the problem; and motivational action, the culmination of the process and the delivery of a powerful call to arms. A parallel process establishes the identity of the collective (the people or in-group) in opposition to those who do not belong (the outsiders or out-group).

The next two chapters are devoted to empirical research on two populist social movements in Europe, part of a series of such events that came to be known as the Great Recession Movements, stemming from the social and economic repercussions of the 2008 global financial crisis. He begins with the Icelandic Pot and Pans Revolution of 2008 – 9, which was the first of its kind and set the tone for future activism. Iceland’s economic situation deteriorated rapidly following its banks’ heavy leverage, which collapsed in 2008, forcing the government to request an immediate economic bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Aslanidis outlines chronological events that led to the establishment of the movement, different stages of development, achievements, and downfall. He conducts interviews with activists to explore the inner mechanisms of the movement and offers a detailed account of its evolution based on his theory.

This is followed by an examination of the Indignados movement in Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece. It was part of a series of protests that engulfed the nation in mid-2011, when the country was facing a grave economic and social crisis. The author offers an extensive overview of the movement’s development by introducing the people directly involved and by implementing the collective action frame.

In the sixth and final chapter, which serves as a brief epilogue, Aslanidis admits to being humbled by the considerable challenges faced by participants in grassroots populist initiatives, noting that the complexity of their processes had previously been underappreciated in scholarly research. He concludes that grassroots populist activists engage in populist framing in a less refined manner than organised populist agents.

The book introduces the reader to a fresher, more authentic, and more spontaneous form of populism. By emphasising the experiences of ordinary people in grassroots movements, the book highlights the citizen-led dynamics often overlooked in studies centred on parties or leaders. However, a more comprehensive comparison between the two case studies is required to showcase the strengths and limitations of grassroots populist mobilisation. Identifying the precise moment and conditions under which such movements must engage with the political realm is essential to understanding how they consolidate and achieve their aims.