What is populism?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi evokes Hindu nationalism in his definition of ‘the people’. EPA/RAJAT GUPTA^[14]

Other prominent right-wing populist leaders include the likes of Viktor Orban of Hungary, Nigel Farage of the United Kingdom, Geert Wilders of the Netherlands, and Australia’s Pauline Hanson.

Left-wing populists, meanwhile, tend to characterise “the people” in socio-economic terms. They often combine their populism with calls for economic redistribution or shifts in power.

Examples include Latin American populist leaders like Evo Morales of Bolivia^[15] and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela^[16], who sought to bring the poor into their conception of “the people”.

In the US, Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential primary campaigns put the working class and people in precarious work at the heart of his “people^[17]”.

Other examples of left-wing populism include the Podemos and Syriza parties in Spain and Greece respectively.

This also means the way populists tend to define “the elite” is quite different.

Right-wing populist targets often include:

• government and policy elites (think of Trump’s “drain the swamp”)
• cultural elites (Trump’s attacks on media as “fake news”)
• academics (attacks on the “ivory tower”) and
• transnational bodies (such as attacks on the United Nations).

These groups are connected in right-wing populist discourse and purported to be undermining “the people’s” livelihood by abetting increased immigration or the destruction of “traditional values”.

Left-wing populists tend to target business and power elites, who they see as fleecing “the people” economically and keeping them from expressing their popular power (think of Occupy Wall Street’s divide between the 99% and the 1%).

Populists also tend to have a suspicion of transnational organisations. But while right-wing populists tend to focus on the likes of the United Nations and World Health Organisation, left-wing populists are more suspicious of business transnationals such as the World Trade Organization or World Economic Forum.

Left-wing populists, like Bernie Sanders, tend to target business and power elites, who they see as fleecing ‘the people’. AP Photo/Kyle Green^[18]

Is populism here to stay?

After every major election where a populist leader or party succeeds, there is inevitably talk of a “populist earthquake^[19]”, “populist wave^[20]” or “populist tsunami^[21]”.

These metaphors suggest populism has come out of nowhere, and is causing a major and unexpected shock to the system.

But that’s simply not the case.

If anything, the story of 21st century politics has been one in which populism has become “normalised” and “mainstreamed”.

Populists are no longer merely “challenger” parties nor minor parties^[22].

They increasingly are among the top three parties in their respective countries (particularly in Europe), and have won government in places from the US to India to the Netherlands to Italy to Greece.

This success has seen them steadily viewed as viable and “normal” political players^[23].

Meanwhile, mainstream parties and leaders have increasingly adopted elements of populists’ discourse, platforms and political styles, as a way to compete with populists^[24].

This, ironically, has had the effect of legitimising populists in many countries; it makes their policies and discourse look more “acceptable”.

It’s important to be cynical about any pundit crowing about the “death” of populism^[25] – or, on the flipside, the idea it has come out of nowhere.

Populism is here to stay. Acknowledging that can help us better understand its appeal, which in turn, can provide hints about how to best deal with it.

Authors: Benjamin Moffitt, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Monash University

Read more https://theconversation.com/what-is-populism-249369

• Prev
• Next