Populism’s ambiguity: reflecting on bolsonarism

Abstract

Is Bolsonaro a populist? Considering the multiple approaches to populism in the literature, this article explores this persistently slippery concept in relation to the political phenomenon known as bolsonarism. It argues that a discursive-performative approach, which gives nuances to the specificities of a given populist phenomenon without generalising or pre-ascribing specific ideological characteristics to it, is useful to understanding and describing the diversity of populist manifestations and their ambiguous features.

Keywords

• reseach notes