Contested Issues Surrounding Populism in Public and Academic Debates

Populism seems to be a well-established notion in public and academic debate alike. Nevertheless, several issues surrounding populism are still contested and thus merit closer attention. These contested issues encompass the extent to which populism is novel and ubiquitous; the scope of the phenomenon; the merits of the various definitions of populism; its political colour(s); the potential danger it poses to democracy; its appropriateness to govern; as well as populism’s impact beyond national borders.
Keywords: populism, public debate, populist radical right, populist left, populism and democracy, populism and government, populism and foreign policy