Y-at-il quelque chose de pourri dans la démocratie contemporaine? La vision des populismes contemporains (France et Italie)

Abstract

Frequently considered a catch-all concept aiming to stigmatize political opponents, populism seems to be the political buzzword of the new century across Europe. Within this context, this article aims to map the way in which different interpretations of the idea of “people” influence the populists’ critique of contemporary representative democracies. The analysis starts from an outline of the theoretical challenges linked to the concept of populism. Following these conceptual delimitations, the theoretical overview provides the background for the operationalization of the concept of “people” and of “populism”. The empiric part is focused on four case studies: France Insoumise (Unbowed France), Front National (National Front), Movimento 5 Stelle (Five Stars Movement) and Lega Nord (North League). The analysis uses qualitative content analysis of the most recent public documents provided by the parties under scrutiny. The main conclusion is that the three concepts of the people have a major impact on the way the four populist parties relate themselves to democracy and the type of reforms of the traditional representative democracy they take into consideration.