Publications by Fellows: Fizza Batool: Theoretical Pluralism Meets Western Myopia: The Age of “Global” Populism
Fizza Batool reviews Michael Bernhard, Amie Kreppel, and Carlos de la Torre’s Still the Age of Populism? Reexamining Theories and Concepts (Edited Volume), Routledge, 2024, 280 pages, ISBN 9781032591407.
Fizza Batool, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at SZABIST University in Pakistan and a Research Fellow at the Democracy Institute, Central European University, affiliated with the Global Forum Democracy and Development.
The re-election of Donald Trump in 2024 provides a clear answer to the question raised in Still the Age of Populism? Not only does the age of populism persist, but its influence on global politics appears stronger than ever. From Washington to Warsaw and Brasília to Budapest, populist leaders continue to reshape political landscapes. This edited volume takes up the challenge of understanding populism’s enduring appeal, bringing together an impressive array of scholars to advance our understanding of this complex phenomenon.
The book’s main strength lies in its openness to diverse conceptual and disciplinary perspectives. The editors aim to initiate a meaningful dialogue across different theoretical traditions and methodological approaches (p. 2), bringing together experts from political science, sociology, and development studies. The volume features contributions from established scholars like Kurt Weyland and Kenneth Roberts, alongside emerging voices such as Pauline Jones, Anil Menon, and Jonathan White. The editorial team brings complementary strengths to the project: Bernhard’s expertise in democratization, Kreppel’s work on institutional development, and de la Torre’s extensive research on Latin American populism ensure theoretical depth and analytical rigor. However, the volume unfortunately follows the common pattern in populism studies of being predominantly Western-centric. The absence of contributions from scholars based in the Global South, particularly from regions experiencing significant populist movements, such as South Asia or Southeast Asia, represents a missed opportunity for a truly global perspective on contemporary populism.
The volume is structured in three parts: Theories and Concepts, Issues, and Case Studies of Populism in Power. The first section stands out as the book’s most innovative segment. Unlike other recent edited volumes that adhere strictly to singular frameworks, like the ideational approach, this volume’s acknowledgment of populism as a contested concept enables a more comprehensive theoretical inquiry. By allowing multiple perspectives to coexist, the editors encourage genuine theoretical debate rather than enforcing a singular conceptual framework.
Mazzoleni’s opening chapter brilliantly exemplifies the book’s commitment to theoretical pluralism. Departing from the popular minimal concepts of populism, he embraces the “diverse array of meanings and aspects of the populist phenomenon” (p. 18). Accordingly, he proposes studying populism as a multi-dimensional concept that accounts for historical, institutional, and cultural context (p. 21). His invocation of the fuzzy-set theory and the ideal-type approach provides a sophisticated conceptual framework for analyzing populism’s complexity. Notably, he examines how populist elements may infiltrate conventional political discourse without necessarily transforming actors into full-fledged populists.
In contrast, the chapter by Hanson and Kopstein presents a more restrictive analytical lens. While their emphasis on patrimonialism offers valuable insights into elite-driven institutional degradation, their critique of populism’s analytical utility (pp. 49-52) stands in marked contrast to Mazzoleni’s celebration of its conceptual plurality (p. 18). Additionally, their argument for privileging patrimonialism over populism as a more effective explanation of liberal democratic degradation is not particularly convincing. Patrimonialism does offer valuable insights into certain mechanisms of democratic erosion, particularly those involving state capture and bureaucratic manipulation, but it fails to encompass the broader spectrum of threats that populist politics poses to democratic institutions. The erosion of democratic norms and institutions by populist actors begins well before they assume power and extends beyond the patrimonial focus on bureaucratic structures and personal authority. Populist actors, even when in opposition, often engage in systematic efforts to polarize societies, erode public trust in the democratic process, and reshape social norms.
Most of the other chapters maintain a broader perspective of populism and are generally critical of its minimalist definition. Roberts views populism as a political phenomenon arising from a combination of weakened social cleavages, crises of political representation, and the construction of a binary division between “the people” and a power elite (pp. 33-35). While he talks about the performative, stylistic, ideational, or strategic dimensions of populism, his understanding aligns more closely with Ernesto Laclau’s work on the subject. Jones and Menon conceptualize populism as an “emaciatedly thin” ideology rather than a “thin-centered” one (p. 62). White picks out definitional features from all major works, including the ideational one, but points out the promise of agency for the people as central to understanding the appeal of populism (pp. 85-86).
Among the theoretical contributions, Jones and Menon’s two-dimensional typology — distinguishing between outsiders/insiders and true believers/opportunists — stands out for its analytical clarity while retaining sufficient complexity to capture real-world variation. Their framework reveals that populism’s impact on democratic institutions varies significantly depending on the type of populist leader involved, helping to explain why some populist movements drive regime transformation while others merely contribute to democratic erosion without systemic change.
Roberts’ analysis of programmatic convergence among mainstream parties and its connection to globalization is also insightful (pp. 42-44). He sheds light on how the narrowing ideological space between mainstream parties and their weakening connection with civil society organizations create political opportunities for populist mobilization. However, his discussion could be improved by a deeper engagement with the dynamics of populists in power. An important question remains: how do populist leaders maintain their ideological positioning when forming alliances with other political actors? This consideration is crucial, given that several populist parties, such as PODEMOS or Lega, have made alliances to enter the power corridors, and others, like Orbán and Modi, have undergone ideological transformations from socioeconomic narratives to sociocultural ones. The case study chapters from the third section further illustrate the adaptability of populist leaders once in power.
The second section examines populism through contemporary issues, such as climate change, religious politics, and anti-abortion and anti-immigration movements. The theoretical contributions here transcend issue-specific analysis, offering broadly applicable frameworks for analyzing populism’s relationship with democracy. Whether through White’s “politics of volition/necessity” dichotomy (p. 86), Spini’s analysis of secularization dynamics (p. 102), or Mason’s framework of “producerist narrative” (p. 118), each chapter identifies broader patterns in how populists strategically undermine democratic institutions. Alarian’s chapter stands out as the only primarily empirical and descriptive contribution in this section. Given the rich theoretical literature on how populists construct and mobilize around notions of national identity and belonging, this chapter could have been conceptually more rigorous by more clearly framing the relationship between populism and identity. While the selected issues tap into fundamental cultural and social cleavages that populist leaders often exploit, the book overlooks the economic divisions that frequently intersect with populist critiques of globalization and economic elites.
The final section, focusing on case studies of populists in power, emerges as the least-compelling component of the volume. Despite attempting to provide contextual insights, the case studies predominantly reflect Western political experiences, thereby limiting the book’s global explanatory potential. This limitation is especially striking given the book’s opening claim that it “investigates current conceptions of populism and its relevance across the globe.” It is a classic example of academic myopia: claiming universality while remaining locally focused. This is a significant omission, as some of the most compelling contemporary examples of populists in power are actually found in Asia: Narendra Modi in India, Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey. The conspicuous absence of these cases, which could offer rich illustrations of populism, weakens the volume’s ability to deliver a truly global perspective.
Despite these limitations, the case studies do reveal important patterns. The relationship between populist governance and institutional frameworks is often dialectical rather than purely antagonistic. In Latin America, populists form paradoxical alliances with technocrats and the military, while in Eastern Europe, they strategically “unbundle” liberalism from democracy. Theoretical tensions also emerge within the volume. Peruzzotti contends that populism arises in response to democratic deficits, yet case studies from Venezuela and Eastern Europe suggest this rationale is often employed as a pretext for democratic backsliding rather than genuine reform. This contrast underscores the need for further research into the governance strategies of populist actors.
Overall, Still the Age of Populism? distinguishes itself from the proliferation of edited volumes on populism through its commitment to theoretical plurality and interdisciplinary dialogue. It challenges narrow definitions, introduces innovative theoretical perspectives, and highlights key global trends. However, its Western-centric focus limits its applicability to broader global contexts. Despite this shortcoming, the book remains a valuable resource for both academics and general readers seeking to understand the persistence and evolution of populism in the 21st century. In essence, the volume embodies a spirit of theoretical openness that merits broader recognition and adoption in populism studies — a methodological blueprint that future scholarship could enrich by applying its diverse frameworks to cases beyond the Western democratic experience.
This essay was originally published in the journal of the CEU Democracy Institute, the Review of Democracy.
