About this item
Populism is a central concept in the current media debates about politics and elections. However, like most political buzzwords, the term often floats from one meaning to another, and both social scientists and journalists use it to denote diverse phenomena. What is populism really Who are the populist leaders And what is the relationship between populism and democracy This book answers these questions in a simple and persuasive way, offering a swift guide to populism in theory and practice.Cas Mudde and Cristbal Rovira Kaltwasser present populism as an ideology that divides society into two antagonistic camps, the "pure people" versus the "corrupt elite," and that privileges the general will of the people above all else. They illustrate the practical power of this ideology through a survey of representative populist movements of the modern era: European right-wing parties, left-wing presidents in Latin America, and the Tea Party movement in the United States.
About the Author
I am a Dutch academic, columnist and podcaster, who lives and work in Athens, Georgia (USA) . My professional work focuses on the question: How can liberal democracies defend themselves against political challengers without undermining their core values? In addition to purely academic books, I have published more accessible introductory book on far right politics and populism.Currently, I am the Stanley Wade Shelton UGAF Professor of International Affairs at the University of Georgia (USA) and Professor II at the Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX) at the University of Oslo (Norway) . He has published many books on the topic of extremism and democracy, most notably about the far right and populism. Many of his books have been translated in a broad variety of languages, including Arabic, Catalan, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Greek, Japanese, Norwegian, Persian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Thai. I am also a columnist for the Guardian (US edition) and host of RADIKAAL, a podcast about the radical aspects of music, politics, and sports. More info at: www.radikaalpodcast.com.
