Populism

Populism is a political style or ideology that presents politics as a conflict between ordinary people and a powerful elite. It claims that politics should express the people’s unified will.

The People: A political community understood as a collective source of legitimacy and sovereignty. Populists invoke a unified people whose will they claim to represent.
Political Rhetoric: The language and persuasive techniques used to shape political beliefs and action. Populist leaders use direct, morally charged language to dramatize political conflict.
Technocracy: A system or style of governance that gives decision-making authority to technical experts. Technocracy grounds authority in expertise, unlike populism’s appeal to popular will.
People's Party: A United States political party formed in the 1890s to represent agrarian and labor interests. Its revolt against financial and political power became a defining early American populist case.
Direct Democracy: A form of government in which citizens decide policy directly rather than solely through elected representatives. Populist movements often favor referendums as a direct expression of popular will.
Political Elite: A group with disproportionate influence over political decisions and institutions. Populist narratives portray elites as detached from or opposed to ordinary people.
Charismatic Authority: Political influence grounded in followers’ belief in a leader’s exceptional personal qualities. A leader may claim a personal bond with the people that bypasses intermediary institutions.
Nationalism: A political idea that treats the nation as a primary community of identity and loyalty. Nationalist populism defines the people through national belonging and exclusion.
Peronism: An Argentine political movement associated with Juan and Eva Perón, labor mobilization, and national popular identity. Peronism illustrates how a populist movement can endure as a broad political tradition.
Referendum: A vote in which an electorate decides a specific political or constitutional question. Referendums can let populist leaders claim a direct mandate from the people.

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