The DOI matches its Crossref record; 77 of the 77 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Populism and Democratic Theory
Open accessAbstract
Commentators routinely describe “populism” as vague. Some argue that the early US populists, who coined the modern usage, were not populists. We disagree and identify this common conceptual core: the “people” in a moral battle against “elites.” The core definition fits all cases of populism: those on the left and right, those in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. In addition to this minimal common core, we identify strongly suggested and frequently correlated non-core characteristics. These include the people's homogeneity and exclusivity, direct rule, and nationalism, as well as a single leader, vilification of vulnerable out-groups, and impatience with deliberation. The US Populist Party and Spain's Podemos Party fit the core definition but have few of the other characteristics. The core can be good for democracy, we argue, while the associated characteristics are often dangerous. Populism in opposition can be good for democracy, while populism in power carries great risks.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“It follows that different ideological underpinnings of populistsstemming from non-core features according to Mansbridge and Macedo (2019)-will most likely coin differential populist”
From Public Administration Under Populist Rule: Standing Up Against Democratic Backsliding (2024) · cites this paper as Mansbridge & Macedo, 2019
In the citing paper
“It is argued that populist governments -in particular under what is called the charismatic, one person leadership -can become dangerous for democracy when the connection between leader and people remains unmediated for a longer time, thus bypassing and surpassing mediating institutions to which one can also count, implicitly at least, the bureaucracy (Mansbridge & Macedo, 2019;Urbinati, 2019).”
From Public Administration Under Populist Rule: Standing Up Against Democratic Backsliding (2024) · cites this paper as Mansbridge & Macedo, 2019
Citations
Cites
Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy.
Robinson, J., & Schumpeter, J. A. (1943) · The Economic Journal · doi:10.2307/2226398 · Cited by 6,650
Mudde, C. (2004) · Government and Opposition · doi:10.1111/j.1477-7053.2004.00135.x · Cited by 5,286
Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe
Mudde, C. (2007) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511492037 · Cited by 4,694
Hall, R., Wittgenstein, L., & Anscombe, G. E. M. (1967) · The Philosophical Quarterly · doi:10.2307/2217461 · Cited by 4,043
Elder, J. W., Geertz, C., & Rosenhack, K. P. S. (1964) · Cited by 3,878
Populism: A Very Short Introduction
Mudde, C., & Rovira Kaltwasser, C. (2017) · doi:10.1093/actrade/9780190234874.001.0001 · Cited by 3,659
Multiculturalism and the politics of recognition
Landesman, B. M. (1992) · Cited by 2,902
Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens
Gilens, M., & Page, B. I. (2014) · Perspectives on Politics · doi:10.1017/s1537592714001595 · Cited by 2,700
Experiments in Intergroup Discrimination
Tajfel, H. (1970) · Scientific American · doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1170-96 · Cited by 2,577
Getting to YES. Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
Marty, A. T. (1983) · Critical Care Medicine · doi:10.1097/00003246-198310000-00024 · Cited by 2,368
Intergroup Conflict And Cooperation: The Robbers Cave Experiment
Sherif, M. (2013) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 2,344
IX.—Essentially Contested Concepts
Gallie, W. B. (1956) · Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society · doi:10.1093/aristotelian/56.1.167 · Cited by 2,280
Müller, J.-W. (2016) · doi:10.9783/9780812293784 · Cited by 2,219
The struggle for recognition: the moral grammar of social conflicts
Oberdiek, H. (1996) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.33-3840 · Cited by 2,152
The Politics of Fear: What Right-Wing Populist Discourses Mean
Wodak, R. (2015) · doi:10.4135/9781446270073 · Cited by 1,925
Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Populism: Economic Have-Nots and Cultural Backlash
Inglehart, R., & Norris, P. (2016) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2818659 · Cited by 1,915
The Oxford Handbook of Populism
Kaltwasser, C. R., Taggart, P., Ochoa-Espejo, P., & Ostiguy, P. (2017) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198803560.001.0001 · Cited by 1,856
Achen, C. H., & Bartels, L. M. (2016) · Princeton University Press eBooks · doi:10.1515/9781400882731 · Cited by 1,736
Cramer, K. J. (2015) · University of Chicago Press eBooks · doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226349251.001.0001 · Cited by 1,596
Populism and the economics of globalization
Rodrik, D. (2018) · Journal of International Business Policy · doi:10.1057/s42214-018-0001-4 · Cited by 1,536
Paper Stones: A History of Electoral Socialism
Lindemann, A. S., Przeworski, A., & Sprague, J. (1988) · The American Historical Review · doi:10.2307/1868132 · Cited by 1,300
Frankfurt, H. G. (2005) · doi:10.1515/9781400826537 · Cited by 1,175
Stanley, B. (2008) · Journal of Political Ideologies · doi:10.1080/13569310701822289 · Cited by 1,159
Enfranchising All Affected Interests, and Its Alternatives
GOODIN, R. E. (2007) · Philosophy & Public Affairs · doi:10.1111/j.1088-4963.2007.00098.x · Cited by 1,157
Populism and the mirror of democracy
(2006) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.43-3063 · Cited by 1,150
From Redistribution to Recognition? Dilemmas of Justice in a “Postsocialist” Age
(2014) · Justice Interruptus · doi:10.4324/9781315822174-8 · Cited by 1,121 · cited 1×
“Adapting from Charles Taylor and Axel Honneth concepts that these theorists devised for other circumstances, we might say that populism typically includes a “struggle for recognition” arising from the perception of “social contempt” [Honneth 1995 (1992); see also Taylor 1992, Fraser 1995].”
Ideologies and political theory: A conceptual approach
Hazareesingh, S. (1997) · History of European Ideas · doi:10.1016/s0191-6599(97)82719-2 · Cited by 1,038
Authoritarianism and Polarization in American Politics
Hetherington, M. J., & Weiler, J. D. (2009) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511802331 · Cited by 910
What Unites Right-Wing Populists in Western Europe?
Ivarsflaten, E. (2007) · Comparative Political Studies · doi:10.1177/0010414006294168 · Cited by 863
Learning from difference: the new architecture of experimentalist governance in the EU
Sabel, C. F., & Zeitlin, J. (2008) · European Law Journal · doi:10.1111/j.1468-0386.2008.00415.x · Cited by 791
Rosanvallon, P., & Goldhammer, A. (2008) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511755835 · Cited by 758
Kriesi, H. (2014) · West European Politics · doi:10.1080/01402382.2014.887879 · Cited by 663
Abts, K., & Rummens, S. (2007) · Political Studies · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9248.2007.00657.x · Cited by 650
Venezuela's Chavismo and Populism in Comparative Perspective
Hawkins, K. A. (2010) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511730245 · Cited by 647
Albertazzi, D., & McDonnell, D. (2008) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1057/9780230592100 · Cited by 641
Urbinati, N. (2014) · Harvard University Press eBooks · doi:10.4159/harvard.9780674726383 · Cited by 629
McCormick, J. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511975325 · Cited by 598
Tamir, Y. Y. (1995) · Princeton University Press eBooks · doi:10.1515/9781400820849 · Cited by 580
The Populist Explosion: How the Great Recession Transformed American and European Politics
Judis, J. B. (2016) · Cited by 534
Populism as a Problem of Social Integration
Gidron, N., & Hall, P. A. (2019) · Comparative Political Studies · doi:10.1177/0010414019879947 · Cited by 530
Taking Politics to the People:Populism as the Ideology of Democracy
Canovan, M. (2002) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1057/9781403920072_2 · Cited by 518
Rousseau's General Will: A Condorcetian Perspective
Grofman, B., & Feld, S. L. (1988) · American Political Science Review · doi:10.2307/1957401 · Cited by 469
Republic, lost: how money corrupts Congress--and a plan to stop it
(2012) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.49-7176 · Cited by 448
Urbinati, N. (2019) · Annual Review of Political Science · doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-050317-070753 · Cited by 433
Populism: Its Meaning and National Characteristics
Saloutos, T., Ionescu, G., & Gellner, E. (1970) · Technology and Culture · doi:10.2307/3102910 · Cited by 418
Bartlett, K. T. (1990) · Harvard Law Review · doi:10.2307/1341478 · Cited by 415
The Populist moment : a short history of the agrarian revolt in America
Goodwyn, L. (1978) · Oxford University Press eBooks · Cited by 378
The Populist Style in American Politics: Presidential Campaign Discourse, 1952–1996
Bonikowski, B., & Gidron, N. (2015) · Social Forces · doi:10.1093/sf/sov120 · Cited by 370
Mudde, C. (2017) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198803560.013.1 · Cited by 366
Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure
Autor, D., Dorn, D., Hanson, G., & Majlesi, K. (2016) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w22637 · Cited by 344
Saxton, A. (1971) · University of California Press eBooks · doi:10.1525/9780520340831 · Cited by 307
The Promise and Perils of Populism: Global Perspectives
de la Torre, C. (2015) · Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) · Cited by 306
Ivaldi, G., Lanzone, M. E., & Woods, D. (2017) · Swiss Political Science Review · doi:10.1111/spsr.12278 · Cited by 304
Civil society, populism and religion
Arato, A., & Cohen, J. L. (2017) · Constellations · doi:10.1111/1467-8675.12312 · Cited by 287
Urbinati, N. (1998) · Constellations · doi:10.1111/1467-8675.00080 · Cited by 245
Anti-Pluralism: The Populist Threat to Liberal Democracy
Galston, W. A. (2018) · Cited by 237
Urbinati, N. (2019) · Harvard University Press eBooks · doi:10.2307/j.ctvk12sz4 · Cited by 237
The Populist Persuasion: An American History.
amp, E. Q., quot, E., Amenta, & Kazin, M. (1996) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2077273 · Cited by 208
Stilz, A. (2009) · Princeton University Press eBooks · doi:10.1515/9781400830701 · Cited by 195
3-d Negotiation: Powerful Tools to Change the Game in Your Most Important Deals
Lax, D. A., & Sebenius, J. K. (2006) · Cited by 184
Norris, P. (2015) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781107280908 · Cited by 181
Is Populism Necessarily Bad Economics?
Rodrik, D. (2018) · AEA Papers and Proceedings · doi:10.1257/pandp.20181122 · Cited by 173
Ober, J. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108226790 · Cited by 168
From Demos to Demoi: Democracy across Borders
Bohman, J. F. (2005) · Ratio Juris · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9337.2005.00300.x · Cited by 117
The Electoral Politics of Growth Regimes
Hall, P. A. (2019) · Perspectives on Politics · doi:10.1017/s1537592719001038 · Cited by 112
Castiglione, D., & Pollak, J. (2018) · University of Chicago Press eBooks · doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226588674.001.0001 · Cited by 67
Populism and the Idea of The People
Espejo, P. O. (2017) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198803560.013.30 · Cited by 57
Goldstein, E., & Woodward, C. V. (1938) · The Yale Law Journal · doi:10.2307/791769 · Cited by 54
The road to rebellion: class formation and Kansas populism, 1865-1900
(1988) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.26-1113 · Cited by 23
A Populist Reader: Selections from the Works of American Populist Leaders
Tindall, G. B. (1960) · Cited by 22
Tom Watson and the Negro in Agrarian Politics
Woodward, C. V. (1938) · The Journal of Southern History · doi:10.2307/2191851 · Cited by 22
Fascism, Doctrine and Institutions
Groseclose, E., & Mussolini (1936) · Books Abroad · doi:10.2307/40028374 · Cited by 17
Frank, J. A. (2017) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198803560.013.29 · Cited by 16
Political Education in the Southern Farmers' Alliance, 1887-1900
Argersinger, P. H., & Mitchell, T. R. (1988) · History of Education Quarterly · doi:10.2307/368865 · Cited by 12
American National Election Study, 1984
Miller, W. E., & Studies, N. E. (1985) · ICPSR Data Holdings · doi:10.3886/icpsr08298 · Cited by 6
Working Too Hard For Too Little: An Interview with Senator Sherrod Brown
Brown, S., Kazin, M., & Kim, D. (2017) · Dissent · doi:10.1353/dss.2017.0068 · Cited by 1
GRAND CENTRAL CAR PARK PTY LTD v TIVOLI FREEHOLDERS
(1969) · Victorian reports · doi:10.25291/vr/1969-vr-62 · Cited by 1
Research works printed but not linked: 23
- Albright M., 2018, Fascism: A Warning
- Bennhold K., 2018, New York Times
- Bonikowski B, 2016, APSA Comp. Politics Newsl., 26, 7
- Brown S., 2017, Cincinnati.com
- Canovan M., 1981, Populism
- De Nadal LA., 2018, From “horizontal” to “vertical”: the institutionalization of the Indignados Movement
- Errejón Í, 2016, Podemos: In the Name of the People
- Fraser N., 1995, New Left Rev, 1, 68
- Garvin WL, 1887, History of the National Farmers’ Alliance and Cooperative Union of America
- Iglesias P., 2015, Lamarea
- Laclau E., 2005, On Populist Reason
- Lévi-Strauss C., 1950, Mauss, Sociologie et Anthropologie
- Levitsky S, 2018, How Democracies Die
- Mansbridge J, 2019, Populism and democratic theory: an extended view
- Mouffe C., 2018, For a Left Populism
- Pedler A., 1927, Slavon. Rev., 6, 130
- Piketty T., 2018, Brahmin left versus merchant right: rising inequality and the changing structure of political conflict (evidence from France, Britain and the US, 1948–2017
- Rawls J., 1999, The Law of Peoples
- Rodrik D., 2018, Project Syndicate
- Rousseau J-J., 1997, The Second Contract and Other Later Political Writings
- Walzer M, 1983, Spheres of Justice
- Woodward CV, 1959, Am. Sch., 29, 55
- World Values Survey, 2013, Wave 2010–2014, Germany, variable V228G
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Economic and Social Outsiders but Political Insiders: Sweden’s Populist Radical Right
Bó, E. D., Finan, F., Folke, O., Persson, T., & Rickne, J. K. (2022) · The Review of Economic Studies · doi:10.1093/restud/rdac037 · Cited by 102
Public Administration Under Populist Rule: Standing Up Against Democratic Backsliding
Bauer, M. W. (2024) · International Journal of Public Administration · doi:10.1080/01900692.2023.2243400 · Cited by 104
“Populism is seen as transforming all the political institutions of the affected democracies (Urbinati, 2019) and shaking up the consensus of the ruling elites (Mansbridge & Macedo, 2019).”
InfluentialIntellectualism, Anti-Intellectualism, and Epistemic Hubris in Red and Blue America
Barker, D. C., DeTamble, R., & Marietta, M. (2021) · American Political Science Review · doi:10.1017/s0003055421000988 · Cited by 75
Personalism and the Trajectories of Populist Constitutions
Landau, D. E. (2020) · Annual Review of Law and Social Science · doi:10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-041420-113519 · Cited by 51
Schmidt, V. A. (2023) · Journal of European Public Policy · doi:10.1080/13501763.2023.2289596 · Cited by 49
Metadata
- Authors
- Mansbridge, J., & Macedo, S.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Princeton University (US)
- Venue
- Annual Review of Law and Social Science
- Publisher
- Annual Reviews
- Published
- 2019-10-13
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 59-77
- ISSN
- 1550-3585 (ISSN-L)
- 1550-3631
- OpenAlex
- W2980269812
- Cited by
- 185
- References
- 76
- Citations by year
- 2026: 46 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 45 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 10.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-sa
- Locations
- Annual Review of Law and Social Science (publishedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Populism, Right-Wing Movements
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Philosophy and Ethics
- Keywords
- populism, democratic theory, definition of populism, Podemos, nationalism, deliberation, political homogeneity
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review