What is National Populism?

It seems to now be the dominant ideology of the Republican Party.

What is it? 

No surprise that there is no single definition, meaning that its confusing, but let's see what we can do. Here are three approaches from three sources.

- Wikipedia:

. . . an attempt to combine the socio-economical values of the left and political values of the right and the support for a referendary republic that would bypass traditional political divisions and institutions as they aim for the unity of the political (the demos), ethnic (the ethnos) and social (the working class) interpretations of the "people", national populists claim to defend the "average citizen" and "common sense", against the "betrayal of inevitably corrupt elites"

- Populism Studies.

. . . a political ideology which combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. The rhetoric often consists of anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the perceived ‘establishment’, and speaking to the ‘common people’. Both right-wing populism and left-wing populism object to the perceived control of liberal democracies by elites; however, populism of the left also objects to the power of large corporations and their allies, while populism of the right normally supports strong controls on immigration.

- National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy.

. . . a 2018 book by political scientists Roger Eatwell and Matthew Goodwin, published by Pelican Books. The book attempts to explain the success of national populist movements using a what the authors call a 4D model, with four variables: destruction of the national culture caused by large-scale immigration; deprivation of opportunities because of globalization and frequent disruptions and slow growth in the post-industrial economy; growing distrust amongst rural and working-class voters, who increasingly feel alienated by liberal, cosmopolitan, urban-inhabiting media and political elites; and de-alignment from traditional political-ideological allegiances, witnessed in high levels of voter volatility, or people switching party support between elections.

- Click here for more posts on populism.