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*** Sponsored by IPSA RC 16 ***

The past two decades have seen a resurgence of populist movements, from Latin America to the post-communist and post-Soviet states, to the old democracies of Western Europe. Most political analysts present populism a threat (and an alternative) to pluralist, procedural democracy. In contrast, some theorists of the so-called new populism see in it a response to democracy’s shortcomings, such as elitism, democratic deficit, corruption, and the lack of efficiency in solving social problems (for instance those related to immigration), and a potential corrective mechanism leading to the improvement in quality of democracy.

This panel is devoted to an examination of new populism in a comparative perspective. Special attention will be given to (1) institutional arrangements (electoral laws, relations between the executive and the legislative powers, federalism, judicial control, etc.) conducive to the emergence of populist movements, (2) policy-making agendas as a cause of and a response to populism, and (3) the role of charismatic leaders (from Chávez and Morales to Lepper and Fico to Haider and Blocher) in perpetuating populism.

Geographically, the panel focuses on Latin America (Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina), the post-communist Central Europe (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria), and the old democracies of the Alpine region (Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France), but contributions covering other areas are welcome.