populism, political program or movement that champions, or claims to champion, the common person, usually by favourable contrast with a real or perceived elite or establishment. Populism usuallycombines elements of theleft and theright, opposing large business and financial interests but also frequently being hostile to establishedliberal,socialist, andlabour parties.

The termpopulism can designate eitherdemocratic orauthoritarian movements. Populism is typically critical of politicalrepresentation and anything that mediates the relation between the people and their leader or government. In its most democratic form, populism seeks to defend the interests and maximize the power of ordinary citizens, through reform rather thanrevolution. In theUnited States the term was applied to the program of thePopulist Movement, which gave rise to thePopulist, or People’s, Party in 1892. Many of the party’s demands were later adopted aslaws orconstitutional amendments (e.g., aprogressive tax system). Thepopulist demand fordirect democracy throughpopular initiatives and referenda also become a reality in a number of U.S. states.

In its contemporary understanding, however, populism is most often associated with anauthoritarian form of politics. Populist politics, following this definition, revolve aroundcharismatic leaders who appeal to and claim to embody the will of the people in order to consolidate their own power. In this personalized form of politics,political parties lose their importance, andelections serve to confirm the leader’s authority rather than reflect the differentallegiances of the people. Some forms ofauthoritarian populism have been characterized by extremenationalism,racism,conspiracy mongering, and scapegoating ofmarginalized groups, each of which served to consolidate the leader’s power, to distract public attention from the leader’s failures, or to conceal from the people the nature of the leader’s rule or the real causes of economic or social problems.

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history of Latin America: The advent of populism

In the second half of the 20th century, populism came to be identified with the political style and program of Latin American leaders such asJuan Perón,Getúlio Vargas, andHugo Chávez. In the early 21st century, populist authoritarian regimes arose in Turkey, Poland, and Hungary, among other countries. In the United States, the first (2017–21) and second (2025– ) administrations ofRepublican Pres.Donald Trump also displayed some aspects of authoritarian populism.

The termpopulist is often used pejoratively to criticize a politician forpandering to a people’s fear or enthusiasm. Depending on one’s view of populism, a populist economic program can therefore signify either a platform that promotes the interests of common citizens and the country as a whole or a platform that seeks to redistribute wealth to gain popularity, without regard to nationwide consequences such asinflation ordebt.