Introduction

Although “populism” has become the buzz word in almost any discussion about, or analysis of, contemporary politics, and was even announced as the Cambridge Dictionary 2017 Word of the Year, it is still, as one of its students has flatly put it, “far from obvious that we know what we are talking about. We simply do not have anything like a theory of populism, and we seem to lack coherent criteria for deciding when political actors turn populist in some meaningful sense” (...

How and Where Does Populism Thrive?

Chapter 4 answers the question: How, and where, does populism rise to power? through an empirical examination of the concepts and theories established in earlier chapters It begins with an elaborate analysis of the most important cases of populist emergence in postwar Europe and Latin America (including, in order of historical appearance, Argentina, Greece, Peru, Italy, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Hungary) and continues, in counterfactual fashion, with two nation cases, Brazil and Spain, in which populism could have grown strong, but did not. This is followed by an analysis of modern U.S. populism in a comparative perspective. American populism, in particular, offers several insights, especially into the role of extraordinary radical leadership and the complexities of dealing with the “people” as an ostensibly homogeneous social unit in an otherwise heterogeneous society.

What is Populism?

Chapter 1 begins with a concise overview of the ways earlier scholars have examined populism during consecutive waves of research on the topic, and goes on to expose common conceptual and methodological errors—such as obscuring the genus, overemphasizing essentialism while overlooking ontology, concept stretching, the incertitude about negative poles, and the difficulties with concept operationalization—before setting out to elaborate a truly minimal definition that can sufficiently account for the comparative study of modern populism. The chapter ends with a presentation of the book’s overall framework of analysis, which condenses the main methodological tools—such as indicators, variables, and concept properties—to be used later on during theory-building.

How do Populists Govern?

Chapter 5 deals with populists in office and exposes what the author terms the “populist blueprint.” Once again based on comparative empirical analysis, it explains how populist parties consolidate in power by means of grabbing the top state administration and depriving key liberal institutions of autonomy, especially the judiciary, state-independent authorities, and the media. Another common characteristic of all populist parties in office is their systematization of patronage politics under the logic of excluding the opposition from state-related benefits and other resources. Finally, the pieces of the illiberal and populist project are put together in an effort to think about it all in a systematic and rationalizing way.

How to Distinguish Populists from Non-Populists?

Chapter 2 discusses how to classify populist parties and clearly distinguish them from other types of parties they are often confused with. It begins by contrasting modern populism specifically with the variant of liberalism that developed in postwar Europe and the Americas, and then goes on to offer a rationalization of the need to study populism as one of only three available alternatives for organizing polity—the other two being liberalism and autocracy. Deriving from the minimal definition of populism as democratic illiberalism, the last two sections offer comprehensive classifications of parties that are populist and those that are not—the latter promptly being relegated to the distinct categories of antidemocratic, nativist, or regionalist and secessionist parties.

What Causes Populism?

Chapter 3 is largely about the essentials of populism—its nuts and bolts, so to speak, that are absolutely necessary to facilitate its emergence—including notions of the people, political leadership, and symbolic discourse. The chapter introduces a fine distinction of three different subtypes of “the people,” each with their own characteristics and political mindset, going beyond easy generalizations about alleged uniformity. A comparative analysis of populist leaders follows, which, based on an original reconceptualization of political charisma, demonstrates a surprisingly high correlation between extraordinary leadership and populist success. Ordinary people and extraordinary populist leaders forge their relationship through specific narratives that are based largely on individual fears and deeply held social resentment. The last section in the chapter models the causality of populism, which is also presented as a concise diagram.

Who is the Populist Voter?

Chapter 6 considers the question: Who is the populist voter? Because of its essentially exploratory nature, analysis in this chapter leaves quite a few doors wide open for further research. It begins with a delineation of the populist voter’s worldview, key beliefs, and voting attributes, which, to a very large extent, are characterized by irrationality, biased judgment, and political irresponsibility. It then uses the six consecutive electoral contests (five general elections and one plebiscite), which took place in Greece between 2009 and 2015 to empirically exemplify populist voting in real action.

How Does Populism Endanger Democracy?

Chapter 7 examines populist legacies and asks: How does populism endanger democracy? The first part addresses a set of questions about the lessons that can be learnt from our comparative study of populism. What has happened to the countries that experienced populist rule? Which are the particular paths each of them has followed after populist rule? And, do we find any evidence to support the claim that so often makes the rounds in academic and public debate that populism may serve as a “corrective” to democracy? The second part concerns questions on the future of liberal democracy in the face of growing populism. Can liberal democracy survive the populist surge? How?