Toward a More Useful Conceptualization of Populism: Types and Degrees of Populist Appeals in the Case of Slovakia

Shifting our understanding of populism from a question of core identity to a description of party appeals allows for a neutralization of the term’s negative connotations by allowing that all parties may use populist appeals to some extent. It is then possible to address a party’s use of populist appeals by measuring its distinctly nonpopulist appeals, which are usually less bound up with normative judgments. Although the preliminary analysis of Slovakia shows a relatively close empirical fit among the theoretical elements in the existing literature, two categories of populist appeals are identified: the outward-looking appeals that vary strongly with a party’s relationship to power, and inward-looking appeals that remain more stable over time. Use of these by politicians may offer clues to the origination, attractiveness, and longevity of populist and nonpopulist appeals.