Das Problem des Populismus im Rahmen der europäischen Geschichte

Abstract

"Populism was treated as a special subject and in a certain way connected to the concept of 'demagogy'. It was presented as a sort of cancer inside the constitutional and democratic-oriented political systems of 19th and 20th centuries. The essay shows how in some sense the 'appeal to the people' is deeply included in the roots of modern constitutionalism. Based on the idea of the 'sovereign people', modern constitutionalism can not avoid the challenge from subjects claiming that its actual form has betrayed the faith of the 'true' people. This challenge is not necessary produced in order to defeat the democratic constitution, but, of course, an evil always existing. The border line between a 'good' and a 'bad' populism is very thin and to govern these boundaries is a heavy job for a political system looking for its balance. The duty for the leaders of making political speeches, party platforms as means to fight elections and in the end the uprising of television as a communicative medium also for building up political consensus have complicated the panorama of the good and bad uses of appealing to the people." (author's abstract)