Populism as a Problem of Social Integration

• In Event: Erosion of Democracy: Populism and Its Causes

Abstract

Building on an important ethnographic literature which suggests that supporters of populist parties often feel ‘left behind’ by contemporary socioeconomic developments, we use comparative survey data from 25 European democracies to assess whether support for parties on the populist right and radical left is associated with feelings of social marginalization. Using a measure of subjective social status to tap each individual’s sense of social integration, we find that people who feel more socially-marginal, because they lack strong attachment to the normative order, social engagement or a sense of social respect, are more likely to be alienated from mainstream politics, to abstain from voting, and to support parties of the populist right and radical left. In multi-level models, we find an association between two key dimensions of recent economic developments – higher levels of income inequality and tertiary enrollment at the national level – and lower levels of subjective social status among people with limited income or educational attainment. We conclude that support for parties of the populist right and radical left reflects issues of social integration that deserve more attention from scholars of comparative political behavior.

Authors

• Noam Gidron, Hebrew University

• Peter A. Hall, Harvard University