Understanding Populism

Bibliographic Data

ID12282977
AuthorsJeremy Webber (0000-0003-2825-382X, University of Victoria, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume32
Issue6
Pages849-876
Publication date2023-02-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial & Legal Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0964-6639 • E-ISSN: 1461-7390
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/09646639231156144
PMID38028321
OpenAlexW4321241654
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited42

The diversity of features attributed to populism - and, as a result, the variety of critiques leveled at it - are remarkable. It sometimes seems as though people are using the same terms to address very different phenomena. Is there any distinctive meaning to populism? Is populism inherently anti-democratic or, on the contrary, is it the epitome of democratic practice? What should an engagement with populist movements mean for the theory and practice of democracy? This paper seeks to map the discursive ecosystem that populism determines. It canvasses the phenomena often associated with populism, proposes an interrelated set of concerns that is distinctive to populism, suggests how populism intersects with propensities and affinities with which it is often associated, emphasises the role of growing economic inequality, and suggests responses to populist movements that are grounded in a truly democratic constitutionalism

Constitutionalism · Democracy · Democratic Theory · Epistemology · Epitome · Meaning (existential · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Sociology · Contemporary Cultural and Social Studies · Law · Philosophy · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Socio-political and Technological Issues

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