Module VIII·Article III·~2 min read
Populism: The Phenomenon and Its Explanations
Digital Politics and Global Governance
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What is Populism?
Populism is not simply “the politics of popularity.” Jan-Werner Müller (“What is Populism?”, 2016) offers a precise definition: populism is a form of politics that claims a monopoly on representing “the real people” against “corrupt elites.”
Three characteristics: anti-pluralism (the populist leader is the only true representative of the people); constructing “the people” as morally pure and homogeneous; constructing “the elite” as morally impure and foreign.
Populism is not an ideology in the usual sense: it can be combined with left-wing (Chávez, Corbyn) or right-wing (Trump, Orbán) economic programs. It is a “thin ideology” — grafted onto broader narratives.
Reasons for the Rise of Populism
Three explanations that do not exclude one another. Economic: globalization has created “losers” — industrial workers in Western countries who feel betrayed. Cultural (Ronald Inglehart, Pippa Norris): the main dividing line is not income, but education and values. Educated urbanites are cosmopolitans, in favor of diversity. The less educated are conservatives in favor of tradition. Institutional: corruption, lack of accountability, perception of elites as self-serving.
Populists often correctly diagnose the problem — elites do indeed sometimes become corrupt and detached — and offer a false solution: a charismatic leader as the “voice of the people,” who in reality concentrates power.
How Do Democracies Resist Populism?
Constitutionalism: independent courts, protection of minority rights, federalism — institutional constraints that slow down majoritarian abuses. The problem: populist governments (Hungary, Poland, Israel) systematically attack these institutions by “democratically” electing a parliamentary majority.
Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt (“How Democracies Die”): democracies today die not through military coups, but through the gradual destruction of norms and institutions by legally elected governments. “Constitutional coup” — a blow to democracy by democratic means.
Question for reflection: Populists speak of “the real people” versus “elites.” In your organization — is there a gap between “official values” and the actual culture, perceived as elitist?
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