A concise and analytically rigorous guide to one of the most contested concepts in contemporary politics.
Understanding Populism is driven by a clear objective: to advance understanding of populism by systematically dismantling the myths that continue to dominate public discourse and, at times, academic debate. The book approaches populism as a coherent yet flexible set of ideas that can be analyzed through careful conceptual clarification and comparison.
The book opens with an unconventional introduction structured as a dialogue that directly addresses common misunderstandings and establishes the volume’s analytical orientation. The core of the book consists of 101 short chapters organized into six thematic sections, each devoted to critically examining a central myth about populism. Each section concludes with a synthetic reflection highlighting key insights.
376 pages | 2 figures, 3 tables | 6.57 x 9.25 | © 2026
Political Science: Comparative Politics, Political and Social Theory
Table of Contents
Preface
List of Abbreviations
Understanding Populism Between Myths and Reality
Part I—Populism and Non-Populism
1| What populism… is not! (Davide Vittori)
2| Not everyone can be a populist: the ideological boundaries of populism (Stijn van Kessel)
3| Looking beyond populism… to better understand populism (Bartek Pytlas)
4| Populism: left or right? (Dani Filc)
5| Populist communication—style over substance? (Lone Sorensen)
6| The strategic use of populism (Michael Hameleers)
7| Complementary opposites: technocracy and populism (Petra Guasti)
8| Populism and Euroscepticism: convergences and overlaps (Antonella Seddone)
9| What is sovereignism? (Nicolò Conti)
10| Anti-populist communication (Vlastimil Havlík and Alena Kluknavská)
11| What have we learned? (Petra Guasti)
PART II—Ideology and Political Positions
1| Brothers of Italy is not a post- or neo-fascist party, but it might pose an illiberal challenge (Leonardo Puleo and Gianluca Piccolino)
2| Boom to bust: where next for Matteo Salvini’s League? (Arianna Giovannini and Davide Vampa)
3| Are “common sense” and “good practices” right-wing or left-wing? The ideological roots of techno-populist rhetoric (Enrico Padoan)
4| The emotional core of left- and right-wing populism (Donatella Bonansinga)
5| Why Italian political parties use populist rhetoric on social media (Andrea Ceron, Silvia Decadri and Fedra Negri)
6| Femonationalism (Francesca Feo)
7| Populism and gender issues in Le Pen and Meloni (Marianna Griffini and Laura Montecchio)
8| Europe, an ideological resource for the populist radical right (Marta Lorimer)
9| The position of Italian parties on the war in Ukraine (Mara Morini)
10| The same thing? The foreign policy of the extreme right and the radical right (Jakub Wondreys)
11| Why Putin’s no populist (Luke March)
12| Ukrainian modern populism: the case of Volodymyr Zelensky (Kostiantyn Yanchenko)
13| The resurgence of agrarian populism (Matthijs Rooduijn and Sarah De Lange)
14| Peronism in Argentina exemplifies the chameleonic nature of populism (Wolfgang Muno and Christian Pfeiffer)
15| The rise of left-wing populism in Europe: ideological divergence and a nationalist turn (Mattia Collini and Michel Perottino)
16| United in delegitimization? The Czech and German branches of the sovereign citizens movement (Aleš Michal)
17| Evolution of radical right movements in Czechia (Jan Charvát)
18| Many faces of one creature: populism in local manifestos of SPD (Petr Voda)
19| ANO’s evolution (Tomas Cirhan)
20| The fusion of nationalism and communism in contemporary Slovak discourse (Filip Žiljak)
21| What we have learned (Petra Guasti)
Part III—Leadership and Organization
1| Myth: all populist leaders are “charismatic” (Adrian Favero)
2| Narendra Modi: India’s “vulnerable” strongman populist leader (Proma Raychaudhury)
3| Populism, (perception of) authenticity, and political communication (Diego Ceccobelli)
4| Populism and platform leadership (Federica Nunziata)
5| Populism and celebrity politics (Donatella Campus)
6| Populism: going beyond the myth of the charismatic leader (Sabine Volk)
7| Legitimacy and visibility: the mainstreaming of the radical right populist at the local level (Adrian Favero)
9| Left-wing populism and social movements: the French and Spanish cases (Laura Chazel)
10| Populism in the digital environment. What can be learned from the experience of the Five Star Movement and the Rousseau platform (Filippo Tronconi)
11| Techno-populism: from the people 2.0 to the digital plebs? (Michal Malý)
12| Chatbot politicians: who are they, and what is their connection to populism? (Silvija Vukovic)
13| What we have learned (Petra Guasti)
Part IV—Political Opportunity Structure
1| Why is Italy more populist than any other country in Western Europe? (Michelangelo Vercesi)
2| Populist zeitgeist à la Française (Petra Guasti and Michel Perottino)
3| Crises and populism: the case of Slovakia (Petra Guasti, Michal Maly and Ales Michal)
4| Why right-wing populist parties are more successful in some countries than in others (Léonie De Jonge)
5| Social media: populists’ partners in crime (Laura Jacobs)
6| The right’s “female face”: media framing of populist radical right women leaders (Alexandra Snipes and Jakub Wondreys)
7| Towards the consolidation of a new cleavage? The evolution of the “demarcationist” bloc in Europe (Vincenzo Emanuele)
8| Neo-Traditionalism in Central and Eastern Europe (Francesco Melito)
9| Populist instrumental use of religion: the cases of Bolivia and Turkey (Greta Lanza)
10| Nostalgia and populism (Ezgi Elçi)
11| Social democratic responses to populism: a comparative analysis (Petra Guasti, Aleš Michal and Michal Malý)
12| Deliberation is no silver bullet for the “problem” of populism (Kristof Jacobs)
13| Populist attitudes as thermometers of democratic quality (Marie-Isabel Theuwis and Rosa Kindt)
14| Responding to populism with caution (Anthoula Malkopoulou)
15| What have we learned? (Petra Guasti)
Part V—Populist Voters and Their Context
1| Don’t exaggerate the importance of populism (Yaoyao Dai)
2| Who is a populist? Let the citizens speak (Matteo C. M. Casiraghi, Luigi Curini, and Alessandro Nai)
3| Populism and the nexus of illiberalism (Marcel Lewandowsky)
4| Populist citizens do not reject liberal democracy (Maurits Meijers and Andrej Zaslove)
5| The myth of the typical far-right populist voter (Daphne Halikiopoulou and Sofia Vasilopoulou)
6| Populism and protest at the ballot box (Alexander Langenkamp and Simon Bienstman)
7| The populist radical right in Spain and Portugal: from the margins to normalization (Luca Manucci)
8| The geography of European populism: unveiling nuances beyond stereotypes (Mirko Crulli)
9| Populism and rural areas: a matter of recognition (Giovanni Carrosio)
10| School and hospital closures increase support for right-wing populist parties (Niels Nyholt)
11| Welfare chauvinism and populism. Is it the economy (stupid)? (David Andreas Bell)
12| Exploring populist supporters’ complex relationship with journalism (Clara Juarez Miro)
13| The relationship between populism and conspiracy theories (Federico Vegetti and Moreno Mancosu)
14| Science-related populism and populist electoral performance (Fabio Bordignon)
15| Populist radical right voters do not have a monopoly on nostalgia! (Luca Versteegen)
16| Activating populist attitudes in times of crisis: evidence from the Czech COVID-19 experience (Jakub Stauber)
17| What have we learned? (Petra Guasti)
Part VI—Impact and Consequences
1| Understanding the illiberal challenge in Europe (Gianfranco Baldini and Hugo Canihac)
2| Populism and constitutional democracy (Giuseppe Martinico)
3| Populists in power, constitutional change, and democratic backsliding (Jasmin Sarah König and Tilko Swalve)
4| Populism in parliament and the impact on representation (David Jágr)
5| “The people” go to the Capitol (Lasse Thomassen)
6| How populist parties survive “mainstreaming” once in power (Anca Turcu)
7| Do European left-wing populists in government become more moderate? (Jan Philipp Thomeczek)
8| Populist governments as a threat from within the state (Michael Bauer)
9| How populists damage governments (Mauricio I. Dussauge-Laguna)
10| Marching to the populist drum? The military’s role in populist governance (Hakki Tas)
11| Populism and the public sector in Italy (Anna Longhini)
12| Lost in the shuffle: local politics in populism studies (Eliška Drápalová)
13| Small homelands: the populist radical right, territories and localism (Elisa Bellè)
14| We cannot ignore the populist radical-right impact on the welfare state (Juliana Chueri)
15| Populist radical-right parties are threatening international cooperation (Motoshi Suzuki)
16| Javier Milei: a different populist outsider (Jaroslav Bílek)
17| Rights for women and gender equality under Giorgia Meloni (Alessia Donà)
18| Why we must resist illiberalism’s attacks on higher education (Andrea Peto)
19| Three myths about populism in international relations (Angelos Chryssogelos)
20| Populism and foreign policy (Fabrizio Coticchia)
21| Animosity and politics: the populist radical right in the age of affective polarization (Sorina Soare and Mattia Zulianello)
22| Exploring tensions: affective and ideological polarization in Generation Z (Paolo Frare, Marco Montanari and Martina Sguazzin)
23| The stigmatization of the policy proposals of the populist radical right (Niklas Bolin)
24| What have we learned? (Petra Guasti)
Bibliography
Contributors
List of Abbreviations
Understanding Populism Between Myths and Reality
Part I—Populism and Non-Populism
1| What populism… is not! (Davide Vittori)
2| Not everyone can be a populist: the ideological boundaries of populism (Stijn van Kessel)
3| Looking beyond populism… to better understand populism (Bartek Pytlas)
4| Populism: left or right? (Dani Filc)
5| Populist communication—style over substance? (Lone Sorensen)
6| The strategic use of populism (Michael Hameleers)
7| Complementary opposites: technocracy and populism (Petra Guasti)
8| Populism and Euroscepticism: convergences and overlaps (Antonella Seddone)
9| What is sovereignism? (Nicolò Conti)
10| Anti-populist communication (Vlastimil Havlík and Alena Kluknavská)
11| What have we learned? (Petra Guasti)
PART II—Ideology and Political Positions
1| Brothers of Italy is not a post- or neo-fascist party, but it might pose an illiberal challenge (Leonardo Puleo and Gianluca Piccolino)
2| Boom to bust: where next for Matteo Salvini’s League? (Arianna Giovannini and Davide Vampa)
3| Are “common sense” and “good practices” right-wing or left-wing? The ideological roots of techno-populist rhetoric (Enrico Padoan)
4| The emotional core of left- and right-wing populism (Donatella Bonansinga)
5| Why Italian political parties use populist rhetoric on social media (Andrea Ceron, Silvia Decadri and Fedra Negri)
6| Femonationalism (Francesca Feo)
7| Populism and gender issues in Le Pen and Meloni (Marianna Griffini and Laura Montecchio)
8| Europe, an ideological resource for the populist radical right (Marta Lorimer)
9| The position of Italian parties on the war in Ukraine (Mara Morini)
10| The same thing? The foreign policy of the extreme right and the radical right (Jakub Wondreys)
11| Why Putin’s no populist (Luke March)
12| Ukrainian modern populism: the case of Volodymyr Zelensky (Kostiantyn Yanchenko)
13| The resurgence of agrarian populism (Matthijs Rooduijn and Sarah De Lange)
14| Peronism in Argentina exemplifies the chameleonic nature of populism (Wolfgang Muno and Christian Pfeiffer)
15| The rise of left-wing populism in Europe: ideological divergence and a nationalist turn (Mattia Collini and Michel Perottino)
16| United in delegitimization? The Czech and German branches of the sovereign citizens movement (Aleš Michal)
17| Evolution of radical right movements in Czechia (Jan Charvát)
18| Many faces of one creature: populism in local manifestos of SPD (Petr Voda)
19| ANO’s evolution (Tomas Cirhan)
20| The fusion of nationalism and communism in contemporary Slovak discourse (Filip Žiljak)
21| What we have learned (Petra Guasti)
Part III—Leadership and Organization
1| Myth: all populist leaders are “charismatic” (Adrian Favero)
2| Narendra Modi: India’s “vulnerable” strongman populist leader (Proma Raychaudhury)
3| Populism, (perception of) authenticity, and political communication (Diego Ceccobelli)
4| Populism and platform leadership (Federica Nunziata)
5| Populism and celebrity politics (Donatella Campus)
6| Populism: going beyond the myth of the charismatic leader (Sabine Volk)
7| Legitimacy and visibility: the mainstreaming of the radical right populist at the local level (Adrian Favero)
9| Left-wing populism and social movements: the French and Spanish cases (Laura Chazel)
10| Populism in the digital environment. What can be learned from the experience of the Five Star Movement and the Rousseau platform (Filippo Tronconi)
11| Techno-populism: from the people 2.0 to the digital plebs? (Michal Malý)
12| Chatbot politicians: who are they, and what is their connection to populism? (Silvija Vukovic)
13| What we have learned (Petra Guasti)
Part IV—Political Opportunity Structure
1| Why is Italy more populist than any other country in Western Europe? (Michelangelo Vercesi)
2| Populist zeitgeist à la Française (Petra Guasti and Michel Perottino)
3| Crises and populism: the case of Slovakia (Petra Guasti, Michal Maly and Ales Michal)
4| Why right-wing populist parties are more successful in some countries than in others (Léonie De Jonge)
5| Social media: populists’ partners in crime (Laura Jacobs)
6| The right’s “female face”: media framing of populist radical right women leaders (Alexandra Snipes and Jakub Wondreys)
7| Towards the consolidation of a new cleavage? The evolution of the “demarcationist” bloc in Europe (Vincenzo Emanuele)
8| Neo-Traditionalism in Central and Eastern Europe (Francesco Melito)
9| Populist instrumental use of religion: the cases of Bolivia and Turkey (Greta Lanza)
10| Nostalgia and populism (Ezgi Elçi)
11| Social democratic responses to populism: a comparative analysis (Petra Guasti, Aleš Michal and Michal Malý)
12| Deliberation is no silver bullet for the “problem” of populism (Kristof Jacobs)
13| Populist attitudes as thermometers of democratic quality (Marie-Isabel Theuwis and Rosa Kindt)
14| Responding to populism with caution (Anthoula Malkopoulou)
15| What have we learned? (Petra Guasti)
Part V—Populist Voters and Their Context
1| Don’t exaggerate the importance of populism (Yaoyao Dai)
2| Who is a populist? Let the citizens speak (Matteo C. M. Casiraghi, Luigi Curini, and Alessandro Nai)
3| Populism and the nexus of illiberalism (Marcel Lewandowsky)
4| Populist citizens do not reject liberal democracy (Maurits Meijers and Andrej Zaslove)
5| The myth of the typical far-right populist voter (Daphne Halikiopoulou and Sofia Vasilopoulou)
6| Populism and protest at the ballot box (Alexander Langenkamp and Simon Bienstman)
7| The populist radical right in Spain and Portugal: from the margins to normalization (Luca Manucci)
8| The geography of European populism: unveiling nuances beyond stereotypes (Mirko Crulli)
9| Populism and rural areas: a matter of recognition (Giovanni Carrosio)
10| School and hospital closures increase support for right-wing populist parties (Niels Nyholt)
11| Welfare chauvinism and populism. Is it the economy (stupid)? (David Andreas Bell)
12| Exploring populist supporters’ complex relationship with journalism (Clara Juarez Miro)
13| The relationship between populism and conspiracy theories (Federico Vegetti and Moreno Mancosu)
14| Science-related populism and populist electoral performance (Fabio Bordignon)
15| Populist radical right voters do not have a monopoly on nostalgia! (Luca Versteegen)
16| Activating populist attitudes in times of crisis: evidence from the Czech COVID-19 experience (Jakub Stauber)
17| What have we learned? (Petra Guasti)
Part VI—Impact and Consequences
1| Understanding the illiberal challenge in Europe (Gianfranco Baldini and Hugo Canihac)
2| Populism and constitutional democracy (Giuseppe Martinico)
3| Populists in power, constitutional change, and democratic backsliding (Jasmin Sarah König and Tilko Swalve)
4| Populism in parliament and the impact on representation (David Jágr)
5| “The people” go to the Capitol (Lasse Thomassen)
6| How populist parties survive “mainstreaming” once in power (Anca Turcu)
7| Do European left-wing populists in government become more moderate? (Jan Philipp Thomeczek)
8| Populist governments as a threat from within the state (Michael Bauer)
9| How populists damage governments (Mauricio I. Dussauge-Laguna)
10| Marching to the populist drum? The military’s role in populist governance (Hakki Tas)
11| Populism and the public sector in Italy (Anna Longhini)
12| Lost in the shuffle: local politics in populism studies (Eliška Drápalová)
13| Small homelands: the populist radical right, territories and localism (Elisa Bellè)
14| We cannot ignore the populist radical-right impact on the welfare state (Juliana Chueri)
15| Populist radical-right parties are threatening international cooperation (Motoshi Suzuki)
16| Javier Milei: a different populist outsider (Jaroslav Bílek)
17| Rights for women and gender equality under Giorgia Meloni (Alessia Donà)
18| Why we must resist illiberalism’s attacks on higher education (Andrea Peto)
19| Three myths about populism in international relations (Angelos Chryssogelos)
20| Populism and foreign policy (Fabrizio Coticchia)
21| Animosity and politics: the populist radical right in the age of affective polarization (Sorina Soare and Mattia Zulianello)
22| Exploring tensions: affective and ideological polarization in Generation Z (Paolo Frare, Marco Montanari and Martina Sguazzin)
23| The stigmatization of the policy proposals of the populist radical right (Niklas Bolin)
24| What have we learned? (Petra Guasti)
Bibliography
Contributors