Introducing the World Populism Dataset (D-POP)

In this paper we introduce the World Populism Dataset (D-POP). The dataset provides a new set of measures of populism in 40 democracies since 1980, differing from other populism datasets in its definitions, variables, methods, and coverage, and which seeks a high level of consistency and transparency. We define populism as a discourse asserting that political power has been monopolised by a self-serving elite that is estranged from ordinary people. Parties and candidates meeting this definition are additionally coded with nine other variables that disaggregate different features of populist politics and movements. The dataset relies mainly on secondary sources (scholarly texts in particular) as source of data, with research and coding done by a small team in order to maximise conceptual consistency. We also aim for maximum transparency in the coding process by providing Case Notes on the reasoning behind all coding decisions and the sources used to inform the coding process.