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

The first cross-regional study to show that populism can have both positive and negative effects on democracy.

Cas Mudde (Edited by), Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser (Edited by)

9781107023857, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 May 2012

270 pages, 9 b/w illus. 9 tables
23.5 x 16 x 2 cm, 0.51 kg

'Populism in Europe and the Americas is a valuable contribution to the increasingly crowded field of populism studies … it is unique and ambitious in its aim to test empirically and systematically the effects of populism on democracy in multiple cases … The case studies are rich in insights and provide substantiation for the conclusion that populism can be a corrective as well as a threat to democracy.' Stijn van Kessel, Journal of Contemporary European Studies

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.

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.

Subject Areas: EU & European institutions [JPSN2], Comparative politics [JPB], Hispanic & Latino studies [JFSL4], Social & political philosophy [HPS]