populism

masses

is a distinctly moral way to imagine the political world and necessarily involves the claim to exclusive moral representation.

As we have seen, populism is a distinctly moral way to imagine the political world and necessarily involves the claim to exclusive moral representation.

is a kind of anti-institutionalism that is said to dislike representation and opt instead for direct democracy (an arena in which the majority will prevail).

Related to this supposed anti-institutionalism is the charge that populist dislike representation and opt instead for direct democracy (as exemplified by referenda).

is a multi-class movement organized around a charismatic leader.

Gino Germani (1978) defined populism as a multi-class movement organized around a charismatic leader.

is a particular political logic, not as the result of particular class alliances. This logic is characterized by a discourse that divides dividing the social into two camps, namely 'the power bloc' versus 'the people.

Criticizing the economic determinism present in most interpretations of Marx, [Ernesto Laclau (1977, 2005a, 2005b).] developed a theory of populism whereby the latter is understood as a particular political logic, not as the result of particular class alliances. In a nutshell, Laclau maintains that this political logic is characterized by the confrontation of the existing hegemony by means of a discursive construction capable of dividing the social into two camps, namely 'the power bloc' versus 'the people.' This discourse does not emerge by accident, but is rather the product of a three-step process involved in radical politics: first the linking of very different demands, then the formation of a collective identity through the recognition of an enemy (e.g. the establishment), and finally the affective investment in an element (e.g. the leader) that represents 'the people' (Kleis Nielsen 2006: 89). Populism in Europe and the Americas: Threat Or Corrective for Democracy' By Cas Mudde, Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser

is a political logic placing emphasis on a singular common good that is clearly comprehensible to common sense and capable of being articulated as a singularly correct policy that can be collectively willed.

Moreover, the emphasis on a singular common good that is clearly comprehensible to common sense and capable of being articulated as a singularly correct policy that can be collectively willed at least partly explains why populism is so often associated with the idea of an oversimplification of policy challenges.

is a political logic which, rather than implying 'we are the 99 percent' claims 'we are the 100 percent'... that is to say, those who do not support them are not a proper part of 'the people'.

When running for office, populist portray their political competitors as part of the immoral, corrupt elite... when ruling, they refuse to recognize any opposition as legitimate. The populist logic also implies that whoever does not support populist parties might not be a proper part of the people-always defined as righteous and morally pure. Put simply, populist do not claim 'We are the 99 percent:' What they imply instead is 'We are the 100 percent:'

is a political strategy through which a personalistic leader seeks or exercises government power based on direct, unmediated, uninstitutionalized support from large numbers of mostly unorganized followers.

a political strategy through which a personalistic leader seeks or exercises government power based on direct, unmediated, uninstitutionalized support from large numbers of mostly unorganized followers' (Weyland 2001: 14).

is a position directly related to an internal contradiction of liberal democracy... namely a tension between the democratic promise of majority rule and the reality of constitutional protection of minority rights. Populism is on the side of majority rule and is hostile towards pluralism and the protection of minorities and forms within an.

Populism and liberal democracy maintain a much more complicated relationship, finally (e.g. Mudde 2007: ch.6). Quintessentially, the ambivalence of the relationship is directly related to the internal contradiction of liberal democracy, that is, the tension between the democratic promise of majority rule and the reality of constitutional protection of minority rights (e.g. Canovan 1999... Meny and Surel 2002b). In this struggle, populism is clearly on the side of majority rule. Moreover, as an essentially monist ideology that believes in the existence of a 'general will of the people,' populism is hostile towards pluralism and the protection of minorities.

populism, n.All

populism