By Jakob Krueger
Populism is a common saying in political everyday language. How gladly do politicians attest to the political opponents populist speech? In public opinion, the focus of populism is mostly on the simplification of complex social issues. However, this is a confusion. Populism is not a stylistic device such as demagoguery; it is an ideology. In this academic blog, I will explain some important things about populism from a scientific perspective, introduce the main definition of populism and differentiate between right- and left-wing populism and, show you one example of populism.
In the 50s and 60s, the first scientific papers about the phenomenon of populism were published. Since then, the research on populism has increased and developed immensely. In the first years, clear and exact definitions of populism are missed. In 2004, Cas Mudde, a Dutch political scientist, spoke from a “populist Zeitgeist” (2004, p. 542) and defined populism “as an ideology that considers society to be ultimately separated into two homogeneous and antagonistic groups, ‘the pure people’ versus ‘the corrupt elite,’ and which argues that politics should be an expression of the volonté générale (general will) of the people” (2004, p. 543). This definition is until these days the minimal consensus and, at the same time, the gold standard of populism definition (Müller, 2016, p. 187; Spieß, Frieß and Schulz, 2020, p. 224; Lewandowsky, 2022, pp. 18, 23).
So, there are three significant parts of populism: the people, which means that there is a monolithic group. This refers to identical issues—the people have the same interests and preferences, and there is a common sense (Mudde, 2017, p. 33). Also, it says that the people have one political will, which was represented exclusively by the populists (Lewandowsky, 2022, pp. 19–20). At the same time, populism means anti-pluralism (Mudde, 2004). Therefore, the people mean an “imagined community” (Mudde, 2004, p. 546), which is constructed and non-existent (Mudde, 2017, pp. 31–32).
The second part of populism is anti-elitism. This indicates the rejection of the elite. Populists imply that the elite is, likewise, the people, a homogeneous group that pursues its own “special interests” (Mudde, 2017, p. 33) and puts them above those of the people (Mudde, 2004, p. 546).
Last but not least, the third part is the restoration of the sovereignty of the people. Populists want to give the power back to the people (Spieß, Frieß and Schulz, 2020, p. 225). This is a huge contradiction to constitutional elements of the liberal democracy, such as separation of powers, protection of minorities, courts, parliaments, and a lot more (Spieß, Frieß and Schulz, 2020, pp. 225–226).
Furthermore, populism is a “thin ideology” (Mudde, 2004, p. 544), so it could be combined with other ideologies. Also, this explains differences between left- and right-wing populism (Wirth et al., 2016, p. 9): right populists refer the people to the common culture or race, and left populists refer the people more to marginalized groups (Lewandowsky, 2022, p. 19). Additionally, there are more dimensions of right-wing populism, nativism (exclusion or othering), and authoritarianism (Mudde, 2007; Decker and Lewandowsky, 2017, p. 23).
Perhaps you are wondering what a populist statement looks like. So, I have one example:
Figure 1: Alice Weidel, chancellor candidate of the right-wing and extremist Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany), on X (formerly Twitter) on 31 December 2024. Translation: “While the AfD stood united for the interests of the people in Germany, the established parties are damaging the reputation of the Bundestag with their unworthy debate. We will continue to stand reliably by the side of the citizens.”
All the three elements of populism can be shown on this X post. Alice Weidel constructed an image of homogeneous people, who only have one common interest (“interests of the people”). At the same time, she said that the AfD is representing these interests as the only party (the AfD stood for people’s interests, but the established parties damage the Bundestag’s reputation). Also she constructed the “elite,” which makes its own problems and damages the prestige of the elected parliament, the German Bundestag. She implies that the people’s interests do not count anymore and the elitist “established” parties do not care about these interests. There is an implicit demand for the restoration of the people’s sovereignty.
Populism is a component of election campaigns, especially on social media such as X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. Also, it is an important component of parties. Therefore, it is an essential skill to recognize populism.
about the author: Jakob Krueger is studying Political Science at Philipps University of Marburg and Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. His research interests include political parties, German East-West studies, and post-socialism. Last year, he wrote his Bachelor's thesis on the polarization of gender-inclusive language.
References
Decker, F. and Lewandowsky, M. (2017) “Rechtspopulismus in Europa: Erscheinungsformen, Ursachen und Gegenstrategien,” Zeitschrift für Politik, 64(1), pp. 21–38. Available at: https: //doi.org/10.5771/0044-3360-2017-1-21.
Lewandowsky, M. (2022) Populismus. Eine Einführung. Wiesbaden: Springer VS (Elemente der Politik). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-36466-3.
Mudde, C. (2004) “The Populist Zeitgeist,” Government and Opposition, 39(4), pp. 541–563. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-7053.2004.00135.x.
Mudde, C. (2007) Populist radical right parties in europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511492037.
Mudde, C. (2017) “Populism: An Ideational Approach,” in C.R. Kaltwasser et al. (eds.). Oxford University Press, pp. 27–47. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198803560.001. 0001.
Müller, J.-W. (2016) “Was ist Populismus?” ZPTh - Zeitschrift für Politische Theorie, 7(2), pp. 187–201. Available at: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3224/zpth.v7i2.03.
Spieß, E., Frieß, D. and Schulz, A. (2020) “Populismus auf Facebook,” Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft, 30(2), pp. 219–240. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41358-020-00221-8.
Wirth, W. et al. (2016) “The appeal of populist ideas, strategies, and styles: A theoretical model and research design for analyzing populist political communication,” NCCR democracy Working Paper series [Preprint], (88). Available at: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-127461.
Comments