Populism as a complex concept: a challenge for classical definitions

Abstract

An answer is proposed in this paper as to why it is hard to find consensus on which phenomena are considered as populist and which are not. It is argued that populism is an essentially contested concept (Gallie, 1998), which encompasses disparate phenomena from a particular notion of popular sovereignty within the democratic narrative, around which there are endless disputes. It is also proposed that in order to analyze populism taking into account these elements, it is necessary to acknowledge its normative nature, since classical definitions of populism fall short by not considering this component, the acknowledgement of which excludes the possibility of definitively solving the problem of the classic categorization of a phenomenon as populist or non-populist. A qualitative conceptual review methodology is used. Both the essentially contested concepts as proposed by Gallie and some insights on the conceptualization of the normative elements in social sciences by Connolly (1993) are addressed.

Keywords

• political communication
• democracy
• value judgment
• conceptualization
• essentially contested concept
• categorization
• discourse
• politics