The Saga of populism: moments in the history of a concept

Main Article Content

Javier Amadeo
Guilherme Paula

Abstract

This paper deals with populism through a historical and conceptual interpretation. Firstly, we discuss the history of the concept, from its beginnings in the 19th Century, when populism was a defining word for social movements in Russia and the United States; then, we focus on 20th Century Latin American populist experiences; ultimately, we approach the rise of populism as a relevant subject in 21th Century Political Theory through a comprehensive and global perspective. Moving on to the conceptual dimension, we present the three most important theoretical approaches on populism studies: populism as a strategy of personal power, populism in an ideational approach and populism as a discursive logic.

Article Details

Section

Contemporary Criticism

Author Biographies

Javier Amadeo, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil

Professor at the Department and Postgraduate Program in Social Sciences at the School of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences (EFLCH) at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp). E-mail: javier.amadeo@unifesp.br.

Guilherme Paula, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil

Postdoctoral student in the Postgraduate Program in Social Sciences at Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil.

How to Cite

The Saga of populism: moments in the history of a concept. EXILIUM Journal of Contemporary Studies, [S. l.], v. 2, n. 3, p. 365–402, 2021. DOI: 10.34024/exilium.v2i1.11434. Disponível em: https://periodicos.unifesp.br/index.php/exilium/article/view/11434. Acesso em: 5 dec. 2025.