Defining Populism

Populism refers to a political ideology that mainly divides the citizens into “the people” and “the elites.” Populist movements are characterized by multiple aspects: the tendency to oppose the elites, the emphasis on national unity, and direct communication with the public. There are two types of populism: right-wing populism and left-wing populism. Right-wing populism believes in conserving the country's traditional values and seeking national unity. In contrast, left-wing populism focuses on including the outsider groups of society, promoting social equality and redistribution of wealth. Over the scope of world politics, interestingly, both types of populism have consistently appeared. This article will explore pivotal populist movements, particularly those in the United States, Italy, and Venezuela.

The United States - Donald Trump vs. Bernie Sanders

Modern U.S. populism is diverse in that there are both right-wing and left-wing populism.

The most famous right-wing populist is Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the United States. Donald Trump had many political supporters because of his campaign claiming to “Make America Great Again.” He was mainly against immigrants and political elites, as he believed that they were the key threats to American citizens. His biggest aim was to make nationalism rise, as he always criticized globalization. Therefore, his policies were mainly interested in creating jobs and restoring traditional values, purely focused on the development of the American economy.

In contrast, Bernie Sanders, the current senator of Vermont, stands for left-wing populism. Focused on progressive societal reform, he tried to empower the common people and emphasize social justice and equality. During his political career, he strove to redistribute wealth and decrease the power exerted by big corporations. This analysis of two representative American populists shows that populism in the United States generally prioritizes social unity and maintains its skepticism toward the elites.

Italy - The Rise of New Populist Political Parties

Populism has greatly influenced Italian politics as well. Italy experienced a significant surge of populism in the early 2000s through two major political parties: Lega and Five Star Movement.

Lega, Italian for “league,” was originally established as a regional party for northern Italy, promoting regionalist values. However, after Matteo Salvini became its new leader, the party changed its name from Lega Nord (“North League”) to its current name, Lega, converting its main value to nationalism. Currently, Lega is a very influential right-wing populist party that shows a strong tendency for anti-immigration and national unification.

Another populist party is the Five Star Movement. The Five Star Movement originally started as a grassroots movement. It brought environmental issues to the public and promoted sustainability as its main value. This party is highly skeptical of the major, traditional political parties and elites. The Five Star Movement and Lega have once made a coalition in 2018, creating strong populism policies, such as anti-immigration; however, the coalition was short-lived and collapsed in 2019. Hence, Italian populism is different from other populist movements, as it has diverse political parties with contrasting populist ideologies.

Venezuela - Unstable Populist Model of Hugo Chávez

Modern populism in Venezuela is best explained by political policies that were forcefully implemented by Hugo Chávez, the 52nd president. Through his famous Bolivarian Revolution, he aimed to create new social welfare programs for the ordinary people and remove the remains of corrupt and old political parties with a new populist ideology. After Hugo Chávez died, the vice-president Nicolás Maduro succeeded Hugo’s role and continued his populism. However, under Maduro’s rule, Venezuela faced severe economic crises and social unrest, making citizens question the efficacy of the Venezuelan populist model. Currently, there is a big ongoing conflict between citizens who support the original populist approach and those seeking societal change. People are greatly uncertain whether populism will persist or be removed in a distant future in Venezuela. Although Venezuelan populism is almost identical to that of other countries, its acceptance of citizens greatly differs depending on the social context.

The Essence of Populism

Populism is ironic. At times, populism provides a society with a greater potential to develop. It offers a completely new sight of the modern world, suggesting significant societal values: unity of people, conservation of traditions, and social justice. As it provides direct and simple solutions to complex societal problems, populism is acknowledged as a straightforward political approach.

However, populism can often times lead to greater societal conflicts, causing a strong division among the citizens who hold different opinions. The future of world politics will depend on how each society handles this complex, somewhat beneficial, and challenging ideology of populism in the next few years.