A spectre is haunting Europe (and other continents) – the spectre of populism. It takes different shapes, its manifestations and causes vary from one society to another, and it gains more support and is more successful in some places and among some social groups than among others. Yet, the varieties of populism share common constitutive features. One key characteristic of contemporary populism is the pronounced hostility towards elites, or in other words: its omnipresent anti-elitism. While few scholars would doubt this observation, the elite-bashing or even fighting the establishment has received surprisingly little attention in the ever-growing literature on populism.
The proposed paper conceives of anti-elitism as a common and essential component of populist discourse across Europe and beyond, no matter whether it comes along under the flagship of social justice or nationalism. The fierce attacks on the establishment are considered a major source for the populist impact on public discourse and its electoral successes. They also raise fundamental questions about the attitude of populism towards democratic institutions and principles.
The analysis focuses on three aspects of anti-elitism: the agenda of anti-elite mobilization, its adversaries or objects, and its attractiveness for voters. I argue that populists’ paramount interest is discrediting the “establishment” and mobilizing against it in an attempt to oust legitimate elites from power (agenda). Their anti-elite mobilization is systematic and strategic, frequently following a top-down pattern and including manipulation and the calculated breaking of political taboos. Essential for fighting the establishment is a massive polarization and a confrontational approach to politics.
In order to make a political impact, populism needs adversaries (or enemies), an audience and adherents. In the paper, I will focus on the strategic construction of “the elite” as enemies of the people. Furthermore, I will elaborate on the reasons for the attractiveness of elite-bashing for certain parts of the electorate. In the conclusion, the contradictions and paradoxes of populist anti-elitism are discussed and interpreted as a chance for established democratic actors to challenge the populist challengers.
Methodologically, the paper will combine comparative analysis of populist anti-elitism with exemplary evidence taken from European cases of the 2000 and 2010s, in the empirically oriented parts.
