Recovering Populism: Saving Democracy from Authoritarian Temptations

Abstract

Over the past two decades, we have witnessed the emergence of what I call the populist paradox, where citizens seek to restore grassroots democratic power by embracing authoritarian movements or governments. Instead of abandoning populism to anti-democratic forces, in this thesis, I argue we can and should revive an alternative populism that revitalizes democracy and affirms meaning in an increasingly nihilistic world. Against those who reduce populism to either an authoritarian ideology or value-neutral strategy, my analysis shows populism is practised in divergent ways that impact political projects and values — for better and for worse. Through analyzing political theory and populist movements spanning from radical prairie movements to Donald Trump, I show two contrasting forms of populism. Whereas authoritarian or antagonistic populism relies upon enflaming ressentiment towards a shared enemy, democratic or agonistic populism is a world-building exercise that reveals the people through action in concert. The difference, then, is between a populism espousing limitless destruction and another that expands democratic spaces where we can create political visions through perpetual contestation with and against others.