Populism, Popular Sovereignty, and the Idea of the People

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

With all of the ambiguity in discussions about what counts as populism, it is at least clear that an appeal to the people as the ultimate grounds of political authority is one of its distinctive traits. This begs a return to fundamental questions of democratic theory about what the people are, and how their power can be enacted. Some of the questions this panel aims to engage with include: How can we interpret this return of “the people” as a central category of politics? What are the notions of the people that are being envisioned in this populist moment? Does this return of the people hold any promise for democratic rejuvenation?

Sub Unit

• Theme Panel

Individual Presentations

• The People as Popular Manifestation - Jason Frank, Cornell University

• People/People-ism - Nadia Urbinati, Columbia University

• Imagine All the People: Conceptual Instabilities at the Heart of Populism - Kevin Olson, University of California, Irvine

• Populism and Democratic Theory: An Analysis and Conceptual Mapping - Jane Mansbridge, Harvard Kennedy School; Stephen Macedo, Princeton University

Chair

• Angelica Maria Bernal University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Discussant

• Sofia Näsström Uppsala Universiry