Endre Borbáth
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 Read more
Alberto Ruiz-Méndez
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 Read more
Matthew E Bergman
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 Read more
Federico Taddei
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 Read more
Fred Paxton
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 Read more
Mattia Zulianello
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 Read more
John Ryan
A Jordan Bardella presidency would represent the most significant reconfiguration of executive power since the Fifth Republic’s founding. Even without a radical policy rupture, the symbolic impact on democratic norms and institutional trust would be profound, including significant risks for the EU, argues John Ryan Read more
Ugo Gaudino
Left-wing populists tend to be inclusionary and egalitarian towards ethnic minorities. But Ugo Gaudino points out that their defence of Muslim communities’ religious grievances often clashes with their secular agenda. While they may de-securitise Islam, they frame other issues and groups as urgent security threats, in line with the populist friend-versus-enemy conception of politics Read more
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