Populism Between Voters, Parties and Policies

Abstract

This panel examines how populism connects voters, political parties and public policies across contemporary democracies. Rather than treating populism solely as a party family or leadership style, the panel conceptualizes it as a set of attitudes among citizens, a strategic and ideological resource for parties, and a distinct model of policymaking. On the demand side, contributions analyse how populist attitudes and issue positions interact to shape support for populist parties, showing that citizen populism both drives and conditions electoral choices beyond standard economic or cultural conflict lines. On the supply side, papers explore how parties adopt and diffuse populist rhetoric in response to systemic incentives and electoral losses, and how the broader “populist spiral” reshapes party competition and mainstream party strategies.

Title	Details
Cross-National Differences in How European Citizens Understand Populist Discourse	View Paper Details
Educational Capital and Populist Voting: The Case of Călin Georgescu in Romania, 2024	View Paper Details
The Effects of Strategic Voting on the New Radical-Populist Parties' Performance. Evidence from the 2024 Parliamentary Elections in Romania	View Paper Details
Demographic Anxiety and the Social Contract: Pronatalist Populism vs Pension Sustainability in CEE	View Paper Details
Between Social Prevention and Punitive Populism? Criminal Policy Shifts in Hungary, 2000–2023	View Paper Details