Measuring and Comparing Populism: The Cases of Catalonia and Scotland

• In Event: Populism and the Reshaping of the Post-War Political Order in Europe

Abstract

Usually nationalism articulates ‘the people-as-nation’ while populism considers ‘the people-as-underdog’. However, the distinction between these concepts continues to be a problem not only in the public sphere but also in academia. The confluence of nationalism and populism in certain policy areas and claims, such as the defense of people’s sovereignty and the critiques to supra-national elites has further contributed to the association of both concepts. This article compares the cases of Scottish and Catalan pro-independence movements from the point of view of the type and intensity of populist features in their public communications.

This paper develops theoretically and applies empirically a new comparative methodology for the study of populism which deconstructs this complex phenomenon into five dimensions: depiction of the polity, morality, construction of society, sovereignty and leadership. These dimensions capture the essential elements the most influential experts in the field (Berlin, Canovan, Laclau, Mudde, Müller, Panizza, Taggart, etc.) have associated to the term populism. The paper analyses the political manifestos, speeches and written communications of the main Catalan nationalist parties and SNP from 2014 and 2017 and it illustrates how populism and nationalism, although deeply intertwined, remain distinct concepts and empirical realities. This article shows that despite sharing extremely similar goals Scottish and Catalan pro-independence movements exhibit clear discrepancies in the tone and nature of their political communications when analysed from a populism lenses. Catalan nationalist parties and leaders present a much higher frequency of populist features and a much more passionate/emotional style. Not all nationalist movement are populist or at the very least they do not display populist features, or a populist logic, in a similar fashion or degree.

Author

• Jose Javier Olivas Osuna, National Distance Education University (UNED)