The Populist Confusion: Conceptual Problems And Ideological Biases

This book review offers a critical assessment of three recent contributions to the debate on populism: What is Populism? by J. W. Muller, The Populist Explosion by J. B. Judis and Populism: A Brief Introduction by C. Mudde and C. Rovira Kaltwasser. The three works depart from different approaches, thus offering an appropriate picture for their joint discussion around the conceptual problems and the ideological biases connected to the uses of the term "populism". It is argued that in order to avoid these flaws, it is more appropriate to conceive populism as a modest discursive frame rather than as an ideology that represents a threat to liberal democracy.