On the Conceptual and Political History of "Populism"

The concept of "populism" is widespread in contemporary political science. It is used to describe politicians, parties, and movements that invoke unitary conceptions of "the people," morally and politically counterposed to elites and other groups. In common language, it is generally considered derogatory and is primarily used by political opponents to delegitimize so-called "populist" actors. In political science, it is often linked to anti-democratic sentiments. This general concept was introduced in (misleading) revisionist historiographies of the People's Party in late nineteenth-century United States from the 1960s, which reflected contemporary anxieties about McCarthyism. It was further developed by scholars of far-right parties in Europe. In this paper, we will outline the conceptual history of “populism,” which is simultaneously a study in the history of politics and the politics of history that illustrates the potential of combining conceptual history and (the history of) political theory.