Benjamin Moffitt
Benjamin Moffitt is Senior Lecturer in Politics & International Relations at Monash University. His research is located at the intersection of comparative politics, contemporary political theory and political communications, and focuses on contemporary populism across the globe.
Benjamin joined Monash in 2024. Prior to this, he was Asssociate Lecturer in Politics at Australian Catholic University, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Uppsala University and Stockholm University, Sweden. He received his PhD from the University of Sydney in 2014, and his BA (Hons) from the University of Wollongong. He has been a visiting researcher at the WZB (Berlin Social Science Centre) and University of Toronto, and is an associate of the Sydney Democracy Network and Uppsala University's Department of Government.
Benjamin is the author of three books on populism: 'Populism' (Polity, 2020), 'Political Meritocracy and Populism: Curse or Cure?' (with Mark Chou & Octavia Bryant, Routledge, 2020), and 'The Global Rise of Populism: Performance, Political Style and Representation' (Stanford University Press, 2016). He is also the co-editor of 'Populism in Global Perspective: A Performative and Discursive Approach' (with Pierre Ostiguy and Francisco Panizza, Routledge, 2021). He has also authored numerous articles and chapters on populism in Australia, New Zealand and Western Europe, as well as the theoretical and media-communicative dimensions of populism. These have appeared in journals including Political Studies and Government & Opposition, and in collections such as The Oxford Handbook of Populism.
Benjamin is currently working on two major projects. The first, funded by the Australian Research Council (2019-2025), is entitled 'The Visual Politics of Populism', and comparatively examines how populists use visual media and how visual media covers populists across the globe. It aims to develop a broader theoretical understanding of the linkages between populism, aesthetics and democracy.
The second, funded by the MM Wallenberg Foundation (2019-2022), is entitled 'Democratic Self-Defense: The Social Model', and is a collaboration with former colleagues at Uppsala University, Sofia Näsström, Paula Blomqvist and Anthoula Malkopoulou. This project examines how democracy can be defended in times of political discontent and democratic instability, with a particular focus on the role of social integration and welfare as opposed to militant or liberal approaches.
Benjamin is also a frequent commentator in the Australian and international press, and his work has appeared in outlets such as The Economist, The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Bloomberg News, The Conversation, the ABC, and the BBC World Service. In 2018, Benjamin was named one of ABC's inaugural Top 5 researchers in Humanities and the Social Sciences in Australia.
Benjamin joined Monash in 2024. Prior to this, he was Asssociate Lecturer in Politics at Australian Catholic University, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Uppsala University and Stockholm University, Sweden. He received his PhD from the University of Sydney in 2014, and his BA (Hons) from the University of Wollongong. He has been a visiting researcher at the WZB (Berlin Social Science Centre) and University of Toronto, and is an associate of the Sydney Democracy Network and Uppsala University's Department of Government.
Benjamin is the author of three books on populism: 'Populism' (Polity, 2020), 'Political Meritocracy and Populism: Curse or Cure?' (with Mark Chou & Octavia Bryant, Routledge, 2020), and 'The Global Rise of Populism: Performance, Political Style and Representation' (Stanford University Press, 2016). He is also the co-editor of 'Populism in Global Perspective: A Performative and Discursive Approach' (with Pierre Ostiguy and Francisco Panizza, Routledge, 2021). He has also authored numerous articles and chapters on populism in Australia, New Zealand and Western Europe, as well as the theoretical and media-communicative dimensions of populism. These have appeared in journals including Political Studies and Government & Opposition, and in collections such as The Oxford Handbook of Populism.
Benjamin is currently working on two major projects. The first, funded by the Australian Research Council (2019-2025), is entitled 'The Visual Politics of Populism', and comparatively examines how populists use visual media and how visual media covers populists across the globe. It aims to develop a broader theoretical understanding of the linkages between populism, aesthetics and democracy.
The second, funded by the MM Wallenberg Foundation (2019-2022), is entitled 'Democratic Self-Defense: The Social Model', and is a collaboration with former colleagues at Uppsala University, Sofia Näsström, Paula Blomqvist and Anthoula Malkopoulou. This project examines how democracy can be defended in times of political discontent and democratic instability, with a particular focus on the role of social integration and welfare as opposed to militant or liberal approaches.
Benjamin is also a frequent commentator in the Australian and international press, and his work has appeared in outlets such as The Economist, The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Bloomberg News, The Conversation, the ABC, and the BBC World Service. In 2018, Benjamin was named one of ABC's inaugural Top 5 researchers in Humanities and the Social Sciences in Australia.
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