Why US Democracy Trumps Populism

Comparative Lessons Reconsidered

Bibliographic Data

ID6099786
AuthorsK Weyland (0000-0002-6106-8661, The University of Texas at Austin, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume55
Issue3
Pages478-483
Publication date2022-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePS Political Science & Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1049-0965 • E-ISSN: 1537-5935
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1049096521001876
OpenAlexW4200317561
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited18

Matias López and Juan Luna (2021) challenged my comparative analysis of populism’s threat to democracy, its reliance on institutional factors (coupled with conjunctural opportunities), and especially the inference about US democracy’s immunity to populist suffocation. However, their emphasis on structuralist and culturalist factors, which would suggest the vulnerability of the United States, is strikingly selective, theoretically unconvincing, and empirically problematic. López and Luna’s methodological improvement of my analysis does not alter the substantive findings or overturn my sanguine inference about US democracy’s likely resilience. Only their further modifications yield more pessimistic scenarios, but those adjustments stand on shaky theoretical and empirical ground. Indeed, the experiences of 2020–2021 corroborate my theory and its comparative lessons. The US institutional framework held firm and foiled the insistent attempts of President Trump and his most fervent followers to perpetuate the US populist in power. Consequently, US democracy continues to appear quite safe from populist strangulation

Democracy · Development economics · Economics · Epistemology · Law and economics · Pessimism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Philosophy · Political Conflict and Governance · Populism, Right-Wing Movements

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access