POPULIST GOVERNMENT: WHAT IT IS, VARIETIES AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

A populist government is a political form that upholds the importance of the common person over the elites. It can be democratic or authoritarian. The term "populism" began to be used in the nineteenth century, to refer to the narodnichestvo movement in Russia and the People's Party in the United States.

However, it was not until 1950 when it began to be used in a much broader sense, encompassing within the concept from the fascist and communist movements of Europe to the anti-communist movements in America and even Peronism in Argentina.

Over the years, populist status has been attributed to different political figures: Jacob Zuma from South Africa; Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of Great Britain; Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president of Iran; Silvio Berlusconi, former Prime Minister of Italy; Hugo Chávez, ex-president of Venezuela, among others.

Apart from being called "populists", it could not be said that these leaders have anything in common. In this sense, the word "populism" has been used to categorize very different realities. This is why the term populism is difficult to define.

Prospects for a populist government

Despite the difficulties, a systematic conceptualization of the term populism could be reached if three perspectives are taken into account: populism as an ideology, as a discursive style and as a political strategy.

Populism as an ideology

The definition of populism as an ideology was raised by Cas Mudde in 2004 (quoted by Gidron and Bonikowski). According to the author, populism is a loosely centered ideology that separates society into two antagonistic groups: the true and pure people and the corrupt elite.

In this sense, populism is a set of ideas based on the differences between the people and the elite, favoring the first group by saying that they represent purity.

On the other hand, slightly centered ideologies are those that do not have a well-defined political and social structure and, therefore, can be compatible with other political systems, whether of the right or the left.

Under this ideological conception of populism, one can understand why the term populist is used to define such diverse political figures.

Populism as a discursive style

This perspective suggests that populism is not an ideology, but a style of discourse. De La Torre (2000, cited by Gidron and Bonikowski) points out that populism is a rhetorical construction according to which politics is an ethic and moral between the people and the oligarchy.

In the same way, Kazin (1995, cited by Gidron and Bonikowski) assures that populism is the language used by those who claim to speak on behalf of the people, based on the contrast between "us" (the people) and "them" (the elite).

Populism as a political strategy

This perspective is the most common among Latin American sociologists and political scientists. As a political strategy, populism refers to the application of various economic policies, such as the redistribution of wealth (expropriation, for example) and the nationalization of companies.

In the same way, from this perspective, populism is a mode of political organization, in which a leader exercises power with the support of his followers, who usually belong to marginalized sectors.

Summary characteristics of the three perspectives

Following the classification made by Gidron and Bonikowski, the different perspectives of populism are characterized by the following features.

Ideology

Based on ideology, populism is the set of interrelated ideas about the nature of politics and society. The study units are the political parties and their leaders.

Discursive style

According to the speech, populism is a way of exposing ideas. The units to be studied can be texts, statements and public speeches on politics and society.

Political strategy

In terms of political strategy, populism is a form of organization. The objects of study would be political parties (taking into account their structure) and social movements.

Populism according to Michel Hastings

Michel Hastings, a university professor at the Institute of Political Studies in Lille (France) proposes a definition of populism that more or less encompasses the three perspectives previously studied.

According to Hastings, populism in a political style and a source of change that is based on the systematic use of rhetoric to attract the masses.

Likewise, Hastings proposes two strands of populism: one discursive and one institutional. In its discursive form, populism is characterized by the presence of statements that express indignation towards various issues (racism, elitism, Eurocentrism, taxes, among others).

In its institutional aspect, populism includes partisan groups that seek to translate these statements into revolutionary projects.

Varieties of populism

According to the people

It has already been seen that populism is directly related to the people; The people that populism defends can be varied, giving rise to different types of populism:

1. Ethnic populism

1. Civic populism

1. Regional populism

These are just some of the types of populism in relation to the people.

According to the political program

If the populist program includes abstract proposals for the restoration of the sovereignty of the people, while the concrete proposals are absent, it speaks of theoretical populism. There will be instrumental populism if the opposite happens.

Democratic and authoritarian populism

In its most democratic version, populism seeks to defend and increase the interests of ordinary citizens through the application of reforms. However, nowadays, populism is often associated with authoritarianism.

Authoritarian populist governments tend to revolve around a charismatic leader who claims to represent the will of the people, but who in reality seeks to consolidate his power.

In this type of populism, political parties lose importance as do elections, which only confirm the authority of the leader.

Depending on the type of government, democratic or authoritarian, populism can be a promoter of the interests of citizens and the country or it can be a movement that pretends to defend the interests of the people in order to win their support and stay in command.

Exclusive and inclusive populism

Exclusive populism focuses on excluding stigmatized groups, such as the poor, refugees, clandestines, or Roma, among others.

On the other hand, inclusive populism requires that the country's policies allow the integration of these minority groups.

Right and left populism

Left-wing populism refers to revolutionary, socialist movements focused on the virtues of minorities (indigenous groups and the poor, for example). This movement is common in Latin America, specifically in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador.

Right-wing populism refers mainly to cultural terms, emphasizing the negative consequences of cultural diversity and political integration.

Right-wing populists see minority groups as the scapegoat for problems the nation may be suffering from. For example, during the Great European Recession, right-wing populist governments exposed that immigrants were to blame for the job loss that thousands of Europeans experienced.

Left and right populism share elements. The line that separates them is in fact blurred, showing that populism is more of a style than a fixed ideology.

The only tangible difference is that left-wing populism favors class struggle, such as the confrontation between the working class and the bourgeoisie, while right-wing populism seeks to divide society, excluding ethnicities and cultures that are different.

Notable populist movements and governments

The Narodnichestvo movement was one of the first organized populist movements in history (19th century). It was about a group of socialist and revolutionary intellectuals who tried to make the peasants of Russia rise up in revolution; however, they were not successful.

In the United States, the movement began in the 19th century, with the creation of the People's Party, in 1892. This movement sought the nationalization of the railways, telegraphs and other monopolies; it also demanded that the government stimulate the economy through inflation of the dollar.

Unlike the predecessor Russian movement, some of the People's Party proposals were adopted by later governments.

The government of Theodore Roosevelt, president of the United States in the first decades of the 20th century, revived populism with the application of policies that went against big business. He also supported farmers and acted as a go-between in the 1902 coal strike. In addition, he created new job opportunities.

In Latin America, in the mid-20th century, various populist governments developed, such as those of Juan Perón (in Argentina) and Getúlio Vargas (in Brazil).

Other populist figures of the last century were the following:

Margaret Thatcher

She was Prime Minister of Great Britain (1979-1990). Her government can be identified with a right-wing populist government. Known as the Iron Lady, she was the first woman to hold this position in the UK.

Find out more about this character with the 90 best phrases of Margaret Tatcher.

Woodrow wilson

Woodrow Wilson was President of the United States (1913-1921). During his government, he favored the development of small businesses.

Juan Domingo Peron

President of Argentina from 1946 to 1952, from 1952 to 1955 and from 1973 to 1974. He is the only president of Argentina to have reached the third term.

Getúlio Vargas

He served as president of Brazil from 1930 to 1933.

Theodore Roosevelt

President of the United States of America from 1901 to 1909.

Populist governments today

Today, populist regimes have grown in importance. A great example is that of Venezuela with "Chavismo." This is a political movement started by the late President Hugo Chávez, whose practice has been continued by the current president of the nation, Nicolás Maduro.

In this regard, Hawkins (2003, cited by Acemoglu, Egorov and Sonin) points out that, if populism is defined as the presence of a charismatic connection between voters and politicians, and the presence of a discourse based on the idea of ​​struggle between the people and the elite, then Chavismo is clearly a populist phenomenon.

The governments of Rafael Correa in Ecuador and Evo Morales in Bolivia are other examples of populist governments in force in Latin America.

All of these examples of populism mentioned above are from the left. Other populist governments are: the government of Donald Trump in the United States, an example of right-wing populism, or the government of Rodrigo Duterte, in the Philippines.

Final thoughts

The term populism is much more complicated than it might seem. Historically it has been used to define realities that are often opposed, which has oversaturated the term connotations.

The media use it as a pejorative term to refer to extremist parties. However, populism cannot be reduced to the connotations it receives or to the political figures who are branded as populists, since this is only part of the reality.

In this sense, populism must be studied as a set of values, opinions and arguments, leaving aside the extremist condition that is usually attributed to it.

Likewise, there are many authors who point out that populism refers to the opposition between the people and the elite. However, not all those who oppose the elites are necessarily populists; citizens have the right to objectively criticize the behavior of those in power.

Similarly, populism is more than the use of aggressive rhetoric employed to defend the rights of ordinary individuals, since the same goal can be achieved without resorting to virtually violent methods.

References

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2. What is populism? (2016) Retrieved on March 3, 2017, from economist.com.
3. Hanspeter Kriesi and Takis Pappas. Populism in Europe during crisis: an introduction. Retrieved on March 3, 2017, from eui.eu.
4. The Rise of Populism and Extremist Parties in Europe (2013). Retrieved on March 3, 2017, from fesdc.org.
5. Top 10 Populist Leaders. Retrieved on March 3, 2017, from top-10-list.org/.
6. Jan-Werner Müller and Joanne J. Myers (2016). What is Populism? Retrieved on March 3, 2017, from carnegiecouncil.org.