Popülizm: Biz ve Onlar

Populism is a term whose alluring simplicity rests on the ‘the people versus the elite’ equation. Since the nineteenth century, when the concept first emerged, those labelled as populists have sought power from different political positions. They have divided society with a horizontal line, melting the broad lower classes in a single pot under labels such as ‘the people’ or ‘the nation’, and portraying themselves as the direct, unadulterated representatives of these masses against the ‘elites’ or ‘establishment’. Populism does not have specific core tenets on how to organize society but takes on concrete forms based on a general reference to the power of the people. Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser have defined it as a "thin-centred" ideology, arguing that it fills its core by attaching itself to other ideologies like socialism or nationalism. Here, populism will be examined not as a comprehensive ideological-political movement with leading thinkers, but as an activity with prominent actors. Its key features will be discussed using current examples. In this way, populism can be understood as a verb rather than a noun.