Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, dominates headlines as the face of the party’s populism. However, Tutku Zengin's analysis of 1,108 statements from all five Reform UK parliamentarians elected in the 2024 general election reveals that Farage is not the most populist among elected Reform UK politicians
Endre Borbáth argues that Tisza’s breakthrough in Hungary was not simply the product of anti-incumbent anger or Péter Magyar’s personal appeal. It rested on a combination of cross-cutting grievances, participatory organisation, and intensive campaigning that turned a new party into a credible vehicle for regime change
With Nicolás Maduro’s political weakening and the electoral victories of conservative parties in several Latin American countries, Alberto Ruiz-Méndez asks whether these developments signal the end of the wild years of populism. Here, he examines what the Latin American experience reveals about its limits
Matthew E Bergman reveals how so-called valence populism (populism focused on competence and good governance rather than ideology) has a potential electoral disadvantage. While non-ideological messages that focus on good governance may broaden electoral appeal, lacking an ideological core can also cost votes. The fortunes of Italy’s Five-Star Movement offer a cautionary tale
At the start of 2026, a meme dubbed the 'nihilist penguin' went viral. But populist media pages and extreme-right accounts soon began using edits of the meme to spread nationalist and exclusionary content. Federico Taddei argues that when the alt-right exploits them, even seemingly apolitical social media trends can carry serious political implications
Independent local lists are often seen as a sign of democratic community organisation. More than that, write Fred Paxton and Eliška Drápalová, their rise may actually limit the success of populist parties among voters disenchanted with mainstream politics
Giada Pasquettaz argues that although Trump is indeed a populist, he is a distinct species within the category, and should be treated accordingly. Unlike other populist leaders, Trump does not seek to reshape multilateralism from within. Instead, he rejects it altogether
Mattia Zulianello introduces the PopulisTree, a new taxonomy and open-access dataset that maps the full diversity of populist parties across Europe over recent decades. Building upon and expanding the existing PopuList database, The PopulisTree helps scholars, journalists, and policymakers analyse one of the most important political phenomena of our times
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