Right-Wing Populist Party Supporters: Dissatisfied but not Direct Democrats

Right-wing populist parties tend to combine criticism of how liberal democracy functions with calls for greater direct or deliberative democracy. But do their voters share that support for direct democracy? In this article, survey data is used to examine, first, whether right-wing populist candidates in Australia, Canada and New Zealand were more supportive of direct forms of democracy than candidates of other parties. Second, the views of right-wing populist voters about the functioning of democracy and direct democracy are investigated. While right-wing populist candidates are shown to be far more likely to support direct democracy, right-wing populist supporters do not mirror the candidates. Although these were among the most dissatisfied with how democracy worked, they did not necessarily favour referendums more than other voters – echoing what some have labelled as “stealth democracy.” Our findings have important implications both for how we conceive of the relationship between populism and direct democracy and the remedies proposed for redressing populist discontent.