Populism Unveiled: Mechanisms and Triggers of Political Violence
Abstract
In recent decades, there has been a widespread surge of populism worldwide. Populists strategically utilize media platforms to highlight the suppression of ordinary citizens by political authorities and the perceived unethical behaviors of political elites. Populists, who employ political slogans advocating for the interests of the common masses and eliminating corrupt elites, have swiftly garnered widespread support. However, the ascent of populists to positions of authority has coincided with a notable increase in political violence. While scholars have extensively elucidated definitions and classifications of populism, and numerous theoretical studies have analyzed factors contributing to the emergence of populism in different geographical areas, there remains a shortage of unified comprehension regarding the mechanisms through which populism incites political violence. This paper investigates the various trajectories of political violence triggered by populism through a comprehensive literature review and comparative analysis. The study contends that political violence is incited by populism through two distinct pathways, as evidenced by an analysis of incidents occurring in various regions under populist regimes. The first pathway sees political violence initially prompted by the consolidation of power and the repression of political adversaries by populist leaders. The second pathway involves the xenophobic ideology of populism intensifies conflicts between native citizens and foreign immigrants, thereby heightening the likelihood of political violence.
References
- Mudde, C. (2021). Populism in Europe: An illiberal democratic response to undemocratic liberalism (The Government and Opposition/Leonard Schapiro lecture 2019). Government and Opposition, 56(4), 577–597.
- Kyle, J., & Gultchin, L. (2018). Populism in power around the world. SSRN Electronic Journal.
- Berman, S. (2021). The causes of populism in the West. Annual Review of Political Science, 24(1), 71–88.
- Bugaric, B. (2019). Could populism be good for constitutional democracy? Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 15(1), 41–58.
- Pappas, T. S. (2016). Modern populism: Research advances, conceptual and methodological pitfalls, and the minimal definition. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics.
- Bao G.S. (2015). General knowledge of political science. Peking University Press, Beijing, 312-313.
- C. Tilly (2003). The politics of collective violence. Shanghai Press, Shanghai, 1-2.
- Kriesi, H. (2014). The populist challenge. West European Politics, 37(2), 361–378.
- McCoy, A. W. (2017). Philippine populism: Local violence and global context in the rise of a Filipino strongman. Surveillance & Society, 15(3/4), 514–522.
- Muis, J., & Immerzeel, T. (2017). Causes and consequences of the rise of populist radical right parties and movements in Europe. Current Sociology, 65(6), 909–930.
- Yilmaz, I., & Erturk, O. F. (2021). Populism, violence and authoritarian stability: Necropolitics in Turkey. Third World Quarterly, 42(7), 1524–1543.
- Piazza, J. A. (2023). Populism and support for political violence in the United States: Assessing the role of grievances, distrust of political institutions, social change threat, and political illiberalism. Political Research Quarterly.
- Gidron, N., & Hall, P. A. (2017). The politics of social status: Economic and cultural roots of the populist right. The British Journal of Sociology, 68(S1).
- Pineo, R. (2020). Immigration crisis: The United States under President Donald J. Trump. Journal of Developing Societies, 36(1), 7–40.
- Mirza, M. N., Ali, L. A., & Qaisrani, I. H. (2021). Populism in the United States: Binary constructions by Donald Trump in the domestic and foreign policies. Global Social Sciences Review, VI(III), 59–71.
- Saraçoğlu, C., & Bélanger, D. (2019). Loss and xenophobia in the city: contextualizing anti-Syrian sentiments in Izmir, Turkey. Patterns of Prejudice, 53(4), 363-383.
- Rodriguez, R. M. (2002). Migrant heroes: Nationalism, citizenship and the politics of Filipino migrant labor. Citizenship studies, 6(3), 341-356.