The Populist Twist

Populist leaders build a specific political and emotional relationship with the people: They present themselves as “one of the people” while, at the same time, enforcing their claim to guide the people. There is an intrinsic tension between the horizontal perspective of the leader as belonging to the people and the verticality implicit in the concept of strong leadership. In modern democracies, the relationship between representatives and constituents is also characterized by this tension. The relationship is horizontal because of the principles of equality and accountability and vertical because political representation implies authorization. Democratic representatives must negotiate this tension and establish a subtle balance between verticality and horizontality. Populist leaders twist the relationship between representatives and constituents: Instead of maintaining a balance between verticality and horizontality, they radicalize democratic tension between both, and subsequently suppress this tension by reinforcing unquestioned trust in the leader. If the balance shifts too much towards authorization and becomes too vertical, authoritarian and totalitarian forms of leadership can ensue.