Alex Yates

Populism, which posits ‘the people’ against ‘the elite’, is often considered a significant challenge to liberal democracy. Namely, because of its supposed incompatibility with liberal-democratic pluralism, the understanding that political power should be widely diffused. In response, several political, academic, and media elites have come to occupy an ‘anti-populist’ position to defend pluralism from populist challengers. Such elites, however, have themselves been accused of undermining pluralism through their supposed marginalisation of dissent and demonisation of those who challenge neoliberalism. My research appraises anti-populist discourses to determine their efficacy in promoting pluralism against populism’s oft alleged authoritarian tendencies.