Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The People and Populism

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Minorities and Populism – Critical Perspectives from South Asia and Europe

Part of the book series: Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations ((PPCE,volume 10))

  • 593 Accesses

Abstract

What is populism? In response to this question the best political theories and philosophies have put forward many different answers that are taken into account in this paper. It affirms the constitutive ambiguity of the concept of ‘populism’ and its ability to unify different issues. After analysing some of the implications that populism entails in practice (in particular the political use of fear and the emphasis on the role of the citizens’ anxieties because of migratory flows, the spiral of fear and insecurity triggered by terrorism, and the role of religions as symbolic repertoires), the paper stresses the link between populism and the end of the logic of the principle of representation, specific of the liberal and democratic theories. The emphasis on the role of the ‘people’ in opposition to political elites is also a feature of populism and is analysed here. In conclusion, it focuses on the legal field: some of the contemporary constitutional theories, in particular the so-called ‘popular constitutionalism’, are discussed. These theories, while polemicizing with those authors who overestimate the role of the Supreme Court, reassess the function of the average citizen in the life of constitutional culture, with the intent of favoring greater political participation, and strengthening democratic life.

This paper has been previously published in Ratio Juris. Vol. 31 No. 1 March 2018 (33–48). © 2018 The Author. Ratio Juris. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The question has been posed again by Müller, What Is Populism? An attempt to define populism is also found in Weyland, ‘Clarifying a Contested Concept’, p. 14ss.

  2. 2.

    Within this literature, see Ionescu and Gellner, Populism; Meny and Surel, Par le peuple pour le peuple; Taggart, Populism; Taguieff, L’illusion populiste; Laclau, On Populist Reason and La ragione populista; Postel, The Populist Vision; Rancière, La Haine de la démocratie and ‘L’introvabile populismo’; and Villacanas Berlanga, Populismo.

  3. 3.

    Gherghina et al, Contemporary Populism.

  4. 4.

    The expression is of Meny, ‘La costitutiva ambiguità del populismo’. See also Meny, ‘La democrazia in tempi difficili’.

  5. 5.

    Berlin, ‘To Define Populism’.

  6. 6.

    Bauman, Stranieri alle porte, p. 4.

  7. 7.

    Kenny, Diaspora.

  8. 8.

    Collier, Exodus.

  9. 9.

    Bakhtin, L’opera di Rabelais e la cultura popolare.

  10. 10.

    Freud, ‘Il perturbante’, p. 82 ff.

  11. 11.

    Beck, World Risk Society as Cosmopolitan Society?

  12. 12.

    Bauman, Liquid Fear.

  13. 13.

    Bauman, La società dell’incertezza; Huysmans, The Politics of Insecurity; and Lorey, State of Insecurity.

  14. 14.

    Robin, Fear; Lanzillo, ‘Il governo della paura nell’epoca globale’; and Durante, ‘Perché l’attuale discorso politico-pubblico fa leva sulla paura’.

  15. 15.

    Walzer, Spheres of Justice; Nussbaum, Political Emotions and Anger and Forgiveness; and Bodei, Ira.

  16. 16.

    Durante, ‘Perché l’attuale discorso politico-pubblico fa leva sulla paura’, p. 54, but see also Tester, Panic.

  17. 17.

    Bazzicalupo, Quando la rappresentazione politica rifiuta la politica, p. 376.

  18. 18.

    Esposito, Communitas, p. 7; and Escobar, Metamorfosi della paura.

  19. 19.

    Beck, Conditio humana.

  20. 20.

    Bordoni, Stato di paura, p. 78.

  21. 21.

    Bauman, Paura liquida, p. 188.

  22. 22.

    Habermas, ‘La rinascita della religione’, p. 24 ff.

  23. 23.

    Of particular importance is the effort to redefine secularization on the part of Taylor in A Secular Age.

  24. 24.

    See, in this regard, the observations of Rizzi, La secolarizzazione debole. On the subject of the persistence of religions in post-secular society, see also Habermas and Ratzinger, Dialektik der Säkularisierung.

  25. 25.

    Waldron, The Harm in Hate Speech, p. 131ss. In this regard, see also Pino, ‘Sulla rilevanza giuridica e costituzionale dell’identità religiosa’, p. 372ss.

  26. 26.

    Bauman, Paura liquida, p. 102.

  27. 27.

    Rositi, ‘Sulla cultura di massa e sul consenso politico’, and ‘Il populismo e l’eguaglianza immaginaria’.

  28. 28.

    Bazzicalupo, Come in uno specchio: populismo e governamentalità neoliberale, p. 25ff.

  29. 29.

    Pitkin, The Concept of Representation; Manin, Principes du gouvernement representative; and Plattner, ‘Populism, Pluralism and Liberal Democracy’.

  30. 30.

    Cas Mudde, ‘Reflexiones sobre un concepto y su uso’, p. 2. Available at www.letraslibres.com/mexico-espana.

  31. 31.

    Bauman, in Bordoni, Stato di paura, pp. 158–159.

  32. 32.

    Mudde, ‘Reflexiones sobre un concepto y su uso’. Also, Mudde and Kaltwasser, Populism in Europe and America.

  33. 33.

    See, for example, Graber, ‘Thick and Thin’.

  34. 34.

    Spadaro, ‘Costituzionalismo versus Populismo’.

  35. 35.

    Thus, also Pinelli, ‘Governi politici, governi tecnocratici, governi democratic’, p. 139.

  36. 36.

    Levinson, Our Undemocratic Constitution; and Amar, ‘The Consent of the Governed’, p. 457ff.

  37. 37.

    Kramer, ‘Foreword’, on which Vespaziani, ‘Il costituzionalismostatunitense all’inizio del nuovo secolo’, p. 612ff.

  38. 38.

    Tushnet, Weak Courts, Strong Rights.

  39. 39.

    Goldoni, ‘Il ritorno del costituzionalismo alla politica’, p.733.

  40. 40.

    Kramer, ‘Popular Constitutionalism’, p. 959.

  41. 41.

    Of demosprudence see, Guinier and Torres, ‘The Supreme Court 2007 Term’, p. 4ss; Guinier, ‘Beyond Legislature’, p. 539ss.; and Guinier and Torres, Changing the Wind.

  42. 42.

    Guinier and Torres, Changing the Wind.

  43. 43.

    Parker, ‘Here the People Rule’, p. 532; Corso, I due volti del diritto, pp. 154–156.

  44. 44.

    Post and Siegel, ‘Roe Rage’, p. 401ff.

  45. 45.

    Fioravanti, Costituzionalismo, p. 103.

  46. 46.

    ‘Sobre la distincion entre democracia y populismo’ [On the distinction between democracy and populism]. Available at www.letraslibres.com/mexico-espana.

References

  • Amar, A. 1993. The Consent of the Governed: Constitutional Amendment outside Article V. Columbia Law Review 94: 457–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakhtin, M. 1968. Rabelais and His World, trans. H. Iswolsky. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, Z. 1992. Intimations of Postmodernity. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1999. La società dell’incertezza [Society of Uncertainty]. Bologna: Il Mulino.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2006. Liquid Fear. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2016. Stranieri alle porte [Strangers at Our Door]. Roma/Bari: Laterza.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bazzicalupo, L. 2010. Quando la rappresentazione politica rifiuta la politica [When the Political Representation Refuses Politics]. Il Mulino 3: 369–381.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2014. Come in uno specchio: populismo e governamentalità neoliberale [Like in a Mirror: Populism and Liberal Governmentality]. Cambio: Rivista sulle Trasformazioni Sociali 4 (8): 25–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, U. 1999. World Risk Society as Cosmopolitan Society? Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2008. Conditio humana: Il rischio nell’età globale. Roma-Bari: Laterza.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berlin, Isaiah. 1968. To Define Populism. Government & Opposition 3 (2): 137–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bodei, R. 2011. Ira: La passione furente [Anger: The Furious Passion]. Bologna: Il Mulino.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bordoni, C. 2016. Stato di paura [State of Fear]. Roma: Castelvecchi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collier, P. 2014. Exodus: Immigration and Multiculturalism in the 21st Century. 2nd ed. New York: Penguin/Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corso, L. 2016. I due volti del diritto: Élite e uomo comune nel costituzionalismo americano [The Two Faces of the Law: Élite and Common Man in the American Constitutionalism]. Torino: Giappichelli.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durante, M. 2010. Perché l’attuale discorso politico-pubblico fa leva sulla paura. Filosofia politica 24 (1): 49–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Escobar, R. 2007. Metamorfosi della paura [Metamorphosis of Fear]. Bologna: Il Mulino.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esposito, R. 2007. Communitas: Origine e destino della comunità [Communitas: Origin and Destiny of Community]. Torino: Einaudi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fioravanti, M. 2009. Costituzionalismo: Percorsi della storia e tendenze attuali [Constituionalism: Pathways of History and Current Trends]. Roma/Bari: Laterza.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. 1989. Il perturbante [The Uncanny]. In Opere, vol. 9: 1917–1923, curated by C. Musatti, 82–94. Torino: Bollati Boringhieri.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gherghina, S., S. Miscoiu, and S. Soare, eds. 2013. Contemporary Populism: A Controversial Concept and Its Diverse Forms. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldoni, M. 2010. Il ritorno del costituzionalismo alla politica: Il ‘political’ e il ‘popular’ constitutionalism [The Return of Constitutionalism to Politics: The ‘Political’ and the ‘Popular’ Constitutionalism]. Quaderni costitutzionali 4: 733–756.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graber, M. 2002. Thick and Thin: Interdisciplinary Conversations on Populism, Law, Political Science and Constitutional Change. Georgetown Law Journal 90: 233–251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guinier, L. 2008. The Supreme Court 2007 Term: Demosprudence Through Dissent. Harvard Law Review 122: 4–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2009. Beyond Legislature: Social Movements, Social Change and the Possibility of Demosprudence. Boston University Law Review 89 (539): 539–561.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guinier, L., and G. Torres. 2014. Changing the Wind: Notes Towards a Demosprudence of Law and Social Movements. The Yale Law Journal 123: 2740–2804.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, J. 2009. La rinascita della religione: Una sfida per l’autocomprensione laica della modernità? [The Rebirth of Religion: A Challange for Secular Self-Understanding of Modernity?] In Religione e politica nella società post-secolare [Religion and Politics in Post-modern Society] ed. A. Ferrara, 24–41. Roma: Meltemi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, J. and J. Ratzinger. 2005. Dialektik der Säkularisierung: Über Vernunft und Religion [Dialectics of Secularization on Reason and Religion]. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huysmans, J. 2006. The Politics of Insecurity: Fear, Migration and Asylums in the EU. London/New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ionescu, G., and E. Gellner, eds. 1969. Populism: Its Meanings and National Characteristics. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenny, K. 2013. Diaspora. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, L. 2001. The Supreme Court 2000 Term. Foreword: We the Court. Harvard Law Review 4 (115): 4–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2004. Popular Constitutionalism. California Law Review 92 (4): 959–1011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laclau, E. 2005. On Populist Reason. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2008. La ragione populista [The Populist Reason], ed. D. Tarizzo, trans. D. Ferrante. Roma/Bari: Laterza.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lanzillo, M.L. 2008. Il governo della paura nell’epoca globale. Cosmopolis 2: 49–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levinson, S. 2006. Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorey, I. 2015. State of Insecurity. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manin, B. 1995. Principes du gouvernement representative [Principles of Representative Government]. Paris: Flammarion.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meny, Y. 2004. La costitutiva ambiguità del populismo [The constitutive ambiguity of populism]. Filosofia politica [Political Philosophy] 18 (3): 359–376.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2011. La democrazia in tempi difficili [Democracy in Hard Times]. In Democrazia: Storia e teoria di un’esperienza filosofica e politica [Democray: History and Theory of a Philosophical and Political Experience], ed. C. Altini, 309–324. Bologna: Il Mulino.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meny, Y. and Y. Surel. 2000. Par le peuple pour le peuple: Le populisme et le democraties [To the People for the People: The Populism and the Democracy]. Paris: Fayard.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mudde, Cas. 2012. In Populism in Europe and America: Threat or Corrective for Democracy? ed. C. Rovira Kaltwasser. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Müller, J.W. 2016. What Is Populism? Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M.C. 2013. Political Emotions: Why Love Matters for Justice. Cambridge: Belknap Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2016. Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity and Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, R.D. 1993. ‘Here the People Rule’: A Constitutional Populism Manifesto. Valparaiso Law University Law Review 27: 531–584.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinelli, C. 2012. Governi politici, governi tecnocratici, governi democratici [Political Governments, Technocratic Governments, Democratic Governments]. Parolechiave 1: 137–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pino, G. 2015. Sulla rilevanza giuridica e costituzionale dell’identità religiosa [On the Legal and Costitutional Relevance of Religious Identity]. Ragion Pratica 45 (December): 369–383.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitkin, H. 1967. The Concept of Representation. California. University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plattner, M. 2010. Populism, Pluralism and Liberal Democracy. Journal of Democracy 21 (1): 81–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Post, R.C., and R.B. Siegel. 2007. Roe Rage: Democratic Constitutionalism and Backlash. Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 42: 373–434.

    Google Scholar 

  • Postel, C. 2007. The Populist Vision. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rancière, J. 2005. La Haine de la démocratie [The Hate of the Democracy]. Paris: La Fabrique.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2014. L’introvabile populismo [The Unfindable Populism]. In Che cos’è un popolo? [What Is a People?], ed. A. Badiou et al. Roma: DeriveApprodi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rizzi, M. 2016. La secolarizzazione debole: Violenza, religione, autorità [The Weak Secularisation: Violence, Religion, Authority]. Bologna: Il Mulino.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robin, C. 2004. Fear: The History of a Political Idea. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rositi, F. 2010. Sulla cultura di massa e sul consenso politico [On the Mass Culture and the Political Consensus]. In Vivere la democrazia, costruire la sfera pubblica [To Live Democracy, to Build Public Sphere], ed. C. Papa, 365–372. Roma: Ediesse.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2014. Il populismo e l’eguaglianza immaginaria. Cambio 4(8, December): 157–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spadaro, Antonino. 2009. Costituzionalismo versus Populismo (Sulla c.d. deriva populistico-plebiscitaria delle democrazie costituzionali contemporanee). In Scritti in onore di Lorenza Carlassare, vol. V, eds G. Brunelli, A. Pugiotto, and P. Veronesi Jovene, 2007–2042. Napoli: Jovene.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taggart, P. 2000. Populism. Buckingham: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taguieff, P.A., ed. 2002. L’illusion populiste [The Populist Illusion]. Paris: Berg International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, C. 2007. A Secular Age. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tester, K. 2012. Panic. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tushnet, M.V. 2009. Weak Courts, Strong Rights: Judicial Review and Social Welfare Rights in Comparative Constitutional Law. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Vespaziani, A. 2005. Il costituzionalismo statunitense all’inizio del nuovo secolo [The American constitutionalism at the beginning of the new century]. Quaderni costituzionali [Constitutional notebooks] 25(3): 605–626.

    Google Scholar 

  • Villacanas Berlanga, J.L. 2011. Populismo. Madrid: La Huerta Grande.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldron, J. 2012. The Harm in Hate Speech. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Walzer, M. 1983. Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weyland, K. 2001. Clarifying a Contested Concept: Populism in the Study of Latin American Politics. Comparative Politics 34 (1): 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Law, and International Studies, Accademia dei Lincei, Roma, Italy

    Giuseppe Zaccaria

Authors
  1. Giuseppe Zaccaria
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, LUISS ‘Guido Carli’ University, Rome, Italy

    Volker Kaul

  2. Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi, India

    Ananya Vajpeyi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Zaccaria, G. (2020). The People and Populism. In: Kaul, V., Vajpeyi, A. (eds) Minorities and Populism – Critical Perspectives from South Asia and Europe. Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations, vol 10. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34098-8_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation