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What’s in a Buzzword? A Systematic Review of the State of Populism Research in Political Science

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  • Hunger, Sophia
  • Paxton, Fred

Abstract

While attention to populism is ever-increasing, the concept remains contested. This article provides a comprehensive overview of populism research and identifies tendencies to a conflation of host ideologies and populism in political science through a two-step analysis. First, we conduct a quantitative review of 884 abstracts from 2004 to 2018 using text-as-data methods. We show that scholars sit at ‘separate tables’, divided by geographical foci, methods, and host ideologies. Next, our qualitative analysis of 50 articles finds a common conflation of the populism with its host ideologies resulting in the analytical neglect of populism. We therefore urge researchers to properly distinguish populism from ‘what it travels with’ and engage more strongly with the dynamic interlinkages between thin and thick ideologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Hunger, Sophia & Paxton, Fred, 2022. "What’s in a Buzzword? A Systematic Review of the State of Populism Research in Political Science," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(3), pages 617-633.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:238113
    DOI: 10.1017/psrm.2021.44
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Grimmer, Justin & Stewart, Brandon M., 2013. "Text as Data: The Promise and Pitfalls of Automatic Content Analysis Methods for Political Texts," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(3), pages 267-297, July.
    2. Laméris, Maite D. & Jong-A-Pin, Richard & Garretsen, Harry, 2018. "On the measurement of voter ideology," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 417-432.
    3. Krieckhaus, Jonathan, 2006. "Democracy and Economic Growth: How Regional Context Influences Regime Effects," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(2), pages 317-340, April.
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