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The populist citizen: Empirical evidence from Europe and Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2019

Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser  and
Steven M. Van Hauwaert Open the ORCID record for Steven M. Van Hauwaert [Opens in a new window]
Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser*
Affiliation:
School of Political Science, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
Steven M. Van Hauwaert
Affiliation:
Department of Politics, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
*
*E-mail: cristobal.rovira@udp.cl
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Abstract

Scholars are increasingly interested in ‘populist attitudes’, which – studies show – can explain party support and vote choice. However, current research has not yet analyzed in detail the characteristics of those individuals with populist proclivities, or so-called populist citizens. To address this research gap, we harmonize survey data on populist attitudes for nine European countries, five Latin American countries, and Turkey in order to uncover shared or distinct features of populist citizens. Our findings are threefold. First, we identify differences in the sociodemographic characteristics of populist citizens, notably between Europe and Latin America. Second, we find similar patterns of heterogeneity in the political features of populist citizens. Third, we show that populist citizens across all countries have the same democratic profile. They systematically support democracy over other forms of government, while being dissatisfied with its implementation. This suggests populist attitudes are intrinsic to the political culture of contemporary democracies.

Keywords

populismcomparative politicsattitudesdemocratic deficit

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
European Political Science Review , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 1 - 18
Copyright
© European Consortium for Political Research 2019

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