Populism in Europe and the Americas Threat or Corrective for Democracy?

Although 'populism' has become something of a buzzword in discussions about politics, it tends to be studied by country or region. This is the first book to offer a genuine cross-regional perspective on populism and its impact on democracy. By analyzing current experiences of populism in Europe and the Americas, this edited volume convincingly demonstrates that populism can be both a threat and a corrective to democracy. The contributors also demonstrate the interesting similarities between right-wing and left-wing populism: both types of populism are prone to defend a political model that is not against democracy per se, but rather at odds with liberal democracy. Populism in Europe and the Americas offers new insights into the current state of democracy from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view.

1. Populism and (liberal) democracy: a framework for analysis Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser; 2. Populist parties in Belgium: a case of hegemonic liberal democracy? Sarah L. de Lange and Tjitske Akkerman; 3. Populism and democracy in Canada's Reform Party David Laycock; 4. The Czech Republicans, 1990–8: a populist outsider in a consolidating democracy Seán Hanley; 5. 'To hell with your corrupt institutions!': AMLO and populism in Mexico Kathleen Bruhn; 6. Populism in government: the case of Austria (2000–7) Franz Fallend; 7. Populism and democracy in Venezuela under Hugo Chávez Kenneth M. Roberts; 8. Populism and competitive authoritarianism: the case of Fujimori's Peru Steven Levitsky and James Loxton; 9. Populism, democracy, and nationalism in Slovakia Kevin Deegan-Krause; 10. Populism: corrective and threat to democracy Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser.

Populism is a buzzword in discussions about politics around the world. Using a clear theoretical framework, a collection of eminent scholars analyze populist actors - from Haider in Austria to Chávez in Venezuela - to demonstrate how populism can be both a threat and a corrective to democracy.

Cas Mudde holds a PhD from Leiden University and is currently the Hampton and Esther Boswell Distinguished University Professor of Political Science at DePauw University. His most recent book, Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2007), won the Stein Rokkan Prize and was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 2008.
Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser holds a PhD from the Humboldt University of Berlin, has worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB). He is the recipient of the Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship for a two-year research project on populism in Europe and Latin America, which he is currently undertaking at the University of Sussex. His research interests include populism, democracy and Latin American politics and his work has been published in Democratization and the Latin American Research Review, among others.