Populism in Europe and the Americas : Threat or Corrective for Democracy?

"Although 'populism' has become something of a buzzword in discussions about politics, it tends to be studied by country or region. This is the first book to offer a genuine cross-regional perspective on populism and its impact on democracy. By analyzing current experiences of populism in Europe and the Americas, this edited volume convincingly demonstrates that populism can be both a threat and a corrective to democracy. The contributors also demonstrate the interesting similarities between right-wing and left-wing populism: both types of populism are prone to defend a political model that is not against democracy per se, but rather at odds with liberal democracy. Populism in Europe and the Americas offers new insights into the current state of democracy from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Populism in Europe and the Americas 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Figures 11 Tables 12 Notes on contributor s 13 Preface 17 1 Populism and (liberal) democracy: a framework for analysis 19 Introduction 19 1.1 Defining populism 21 1.1.1 A brief conceptual history of the term populism 21 1.1.2 Towards a minimal definition of populism 25 1.2 Defining democracy 28 1.2.1 Democracy 28 1.2.2 Liberal democracy 29 1.2.3 Radical democracy 31 1.3 Populism and democracy: friend and foe 33 1.4 Populist effects on the quality of democracy: corrective and threat 36 1.4.1 Positive effects 38 1.4.2 Negative effects 39 1.5 Which circumstances determine the effects of populism? 40 Conclusions 43 2 Populist parties in Belgium: a case of hegemonic liberal democracy? 45 Introduction 45 2.1 Populist parties in Belgium 46 2.2. The populism of the VB 49 2.3 The VB’s relationship to liberal democracy 51 2.4 The effects of the rise of the VB at the political level 54 2.5 The effect of the rise of the VB at the societal level 59 Conclusion 62 3 Populism and democracy in Canada’s Reform Party 64 Introduction 64 3.1 The Reform Party in a new party system 64 3.2 Populist themes in the Reform Party 67 3.3 Populism in Reform’s successors 69 3.4 Reform’s populism and democracy: Testing hypotheses 72 Conclusion 82 4 The Czech Republicans 1990–1998: a populist outsider in a consolidating democracy 86 Introduction 86 4.1 The rise and fall of the SPR-RSC 86 4.2 The SPR-RSC as a populist radical right party 91 4.2.1 ‘Ordinary people’ versus corrupt (crypto-) communist elites 92 4.2.2 Moral politics 93 4.2.3 Defending the national community 94 4.2.4 The Republicans’ understanding of democracy 95 4.3 The Republicans and Czech democracy 97 4.3.1 Positive effects on democracy? 98 4.3.2 Negative effects? 101 4.3.3 The Republicans’ outsider populism: Causes and context 101 4.4 Legacies of the SPR-RSC 102 Conclusions 104 5 “To hell with your corrupt institutions!”: AMLO and populism in Mexico 106 Introduction 106 5.1 The 2006 presidential campaign: “For the Good of All – the Poor First” 107 5.2 Populism in power: Andrés Manuel López Obrador as mayor of Mexico City 117 5.3 López Obrador and the PRD: Leftist populism in Mexico 120 5.4 Lasting effects? 125 Conclusion 128 Appendix: Elaboration of the Populist Rubric 130 6 Populism in government: of Austria (2000–2007) 131 Introduction 131 6.1 The early history of the FPÖ 134 6.2 Party ideology, vote- and office-seeking strategies 135 6.3 The ÖVP-FPÖ coalition of 2000–2003 (cabinet Schüssel I) 139 6.3.1 History 139 6.3.2 Positive effects 141 6.3.3 Negative effects 143 6.4 The ÖVP-FPÖ/BZÖ coalition of 2003–2007 (cabinet Schüssel II) 146 6.4.1 History 146 6.4.2 Positive effects 148 6.4.3 Negative effects 149 6.5 FPÖ/BZÖ effects on sub-national democracy: The case of Carinthia 150 Conclusions 152 7 Populism and democracy in Venezuela under Hugo Chávez 154 Introduction 154 7.1 The crisis of Venezuelan democracy and the rise of Chavismo 156 7.2. Populist ideology and discourse under Chávez 162 7.3 Democracy, inclusion, and popular participation under Chávez 165 7.4 The Chávez regime and democratic contestation 171 Conclusion 176 8 Populism and competitive authoritarianism: the case of Fujimori’s Peru 178 Introduction 178 8.1 Populism, democracy, and competitive authoritarianism 179 8.2 ‘A president like you:’ populism and Fujimori’s rise to power, 1990–1992 182 8.3 Populism in power: political conflict and democratic breakdown, 1990–1992 187 8.4 The rise of competitive authoritarianism, 1992–2000 192 8.5 How inclusionary was Fujimorismo? 195 Conclusion 198 9 Populism, democracy, and nationalism in Slovakia 200 Introduction 200 9.1 Measuring populism in Meciar’s Slovakia, 1992–1998 200 9.1.1 Downplaying differences within the category of ‘the people’ 203 9.1.2 Downplaying differences within the category of ‘the elite’ 205 9.1.3 Emphasize the moral distinctions between ‘the people’ and ‘the elite’ 206 9.2 Assessing populism’s impact in Meciar’s Slovakia, 1992–1998 208 9.2.1 A new basis for political competition 209 9.2.2 Mobilizing and representing excluded groups 210 9.2.3 Introducing a higher degree of intensity into political competition 211 9.2.4 Advocating popular sovereignty and plebiscitarian mechanisms 212 9.2.5 Emphasizing majority rule 213 9.3 Evaluating populism’s impact beyond meciar 215 Conclusion 221 10 Populism: corrective and threat to democracy 223 Introduction 223 10.1 Assessing the concepts and hypotheses developed in the framework 224 10.2 From ‘empirics’ to ‘theory’: Unexpected findings 229 10.2.1 Populism at the sub-national level 230 10.2.2 Reactions to populism 231 10.2.3 The Levitsky-Loxton thesis: Populism leads to competitive authoritarianism 233 10.2.4. Populism and the international arena 234 10.3 Future paths of inquiry on populism and democracy 236 Bibliography 241 Index 269 Machine generated contents note: 1. Populism and (liberal) democracy: a framework for analysis Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser; 2. Populist parties in Belgium: a case of hegemonic liberal democracy? Sarah L. de Lange and Tjitske Akkerman; 3. Populism and democracy in Canada's Reform Party David Laycock; 4. The Czech Republicans 1990-8: a populist outsider in a consolidating democracy Seán Hanley; 5. 'To hell with your corrupt institutions!' AMLO and populism in Mexico Kathleen Bruhn; 6. Populism in government: the case of Austria (2000-7) Franz Fallend; 7. Populism and democracy in Venezuela under Hugo Chávez Kenneth M. Roberts; 8. Populism and competitive authoritarianism: the case of Fujimori's Peru Steven Levitsky and James Loxton; 9. Populism, democracy and nationalism in Slovakia Kevin Deegan-Krause; 10. Populism: corrective and threat to democracy Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser. Populism and (liberal) democracy : a framework for analysis -- Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser Populist parties in Belgium : a case of hegemonic liberal democracy? -- Sarah L. de Lange and Tjitske Akkerman Populism and democracy in Canada's Reform Party -- David Laycock The Czech Republicans 1990-8 : a populist outsider in a consolidating democracy -- Seán Hanley 'To hell with your corrupt institutions!' : AMLO and populism in Mexico -- Kathleen Bruhn Populism in government: the case of Austria (2000-2007) -- Franz Fallend Populism and democracy in Venezuela under Hugo Chávez -- Kenneth M. Roberts Populism and competitive authoritarianism : the case of Fujimori's Peru -- Steven Levitsky and James Loxton Populism, democracy and nationalism in Slovakia -- Kevin Deegan-Krause Populism : corrective and threat to democracy -- Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser. Populism is a buzzword in discussions about politics around the world. Using a clear theoretical framework, a collection of eminent scholars analyze populist actors - from Haider in Austria to Chávez in Venezuela - to demonstrate how populism can be both a threat and a corrective to democracy.