Synopsis
A theoretical account treating populism not as a pathology but as a basic logic of constructing a unified popular political subject.
Core passage idea
Paraphrase · Modern copyrighted workPopulism works by linking many separate grievances into a single chain of demands that constructs a people against a hostile elite.
It reframes populism as a fundamental mechanism of political identity rather than a deviation from normal politics.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with Jan-Werner Müller, What Is Populism?.
Reading note
Read it as abstract political theory built on discourse and psychoanalytic concepts, not a study of particular movements.
Best paired with
Jan-Werner Müller, What Is Populism?