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STREAMS OF ANALYSIS
Populism's Cognitive Logic: Beyond the People vs. the Elite
Growing numbers of American citizens are embracing populist alternatives to liberal democracy. To explain this, political scientists have primarily focused on contextual factors such as economic inequality and immigration, or individual characteristics like personality traits and social identity. This study contributes to this literature in two ways. First, we move beyond the conventional more empirically based understanding of populism as a "thin" ideology to offer a theoretical analysis of the logic of populist thought and the coherence of its political worldview. This worldview not only centers on the conflict between "the people" and a corrupt elite but is also fundamentally authoritarian, absolutist and exclusionary. Second, we propose that the relative simplicity of populist thought is central to its enduring appeal. For many individuals, populism provides a framework for understanding society and governance that is more accessible and therefore more readily adopted than liberal democratic alternatives. To test these propositions, we conducted an online survey in the US measuring both populist attitudes and cognitive ability. Our findings indicate that populism does indeed offer a coherent political vision and that individuals' propensity to embrace this vision is significantly influenced by their cognitive ability.t your business here.
Embracing a Politics You Can Understand: The Cognitive Basis of an Authoritarian, Exclusionary Populism in the US and Spain
Growing numbers of citizens are embracing populist alternatives to liberal democracy. To explain this phenomenon, political scientists have primarily focused on contextual factors such as economic inequality and immigration, or individual characteristics like personality traits and social identity. This study contributes to this literature in two ways. First, we move beyond the conventional understanding of populism as a "thin" ideology to argue that populism constitutes a relatively simple yet structurally coherent political worldview. This worldview not only centers on the conflict between "the people" and a corrupt elite but is also fundamentally authoritarian, absolutist, and exclusionary. Second, we propose that populism's comparative simplicity is central to its appeal. For many individuals, populism provides a framework for understanding society and governance that is more accessible and therefore more readily adopted than liberal democratic alternatives. To test these propositions, we conducted an online survey measuring both populist attitudes and cognitive ability in both the United States and Spain. Our findings indicate that populism does indeed offer a coherent political vision and that individuals' propensity to embrace this vision is significantly influenced by their cognitive ability.
Ideologies of the Practical, the Desirable and the Corrupt: Right-Wing Populist vs Liberal Democratic Conceptions of Domestic Governance and International Relations.
Politics in the advanced industrialized democracies has become increasingly polarized around the divide between liberal democrats and right-wing populists. The aim here is to better understand the nature of this contest. Challenging the prevailing view among political scientists that right-wing populism constitutes only a "thin" ideology, I argue that it represents a coherent vision of human nature, society, and governance that differs fundamentally from liberal democracy in its basic assumptions about the nature and dynamics of social life and the moral principles that guide it. Focusing on mutual accusations of corruption, I elucidate the ideological foundations that underlie each side's vision of the other as a threat to what is true and good. The essay concludes with a brief consideration of two possible paths forward: deliberative engagement grounded in shared human concerns and fundamental beliefs, or strategic conflict driven by a recognition of irreconcilable differences.