Debate on populism: what theoretical contributions?

Abstract

Populism as a political phenomenon has been increasingly discussed in political science. This is due to a proliferation of so-called populist mobilizations around the world. The concept of populism, however, is not consensual. When it appeared, what it is, and what characterizes it, are some of the questions raised by the literature on the subject, which, in turn, diverges in the answers found. However, it is possible to identify the populist discourse as a convergent element among the theoretical developments. Thus, we seek to analyze and discuss the different theoretical contributions on populism. We adopt qualitative bibliographic research and then proceed to content analysis, drawing conclusions about the problem. The discussion makes it possible to point out the presence of simplistic and reductionist analyses concerning populist mobilizations and the need for improvement of methods of analysis on the theme.