Three Provocations concerning the Uses of Populism

Abstract

This article outlines three provocations to shake up the comfort zone of populism studies. These are: that populism may have become an anachronism and we should think about moving on; that populism may work better as a term of derision, as democracy was for the ancient Greeks; that we should describe it as a historical phenomenon, something that happened in the mid-twentieth century but is no longer current. So, my suggestion to populism scholars is to drop the term, use it to disqualify opponents, or refer to it as something that happened some time ago.