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Why is populism all the rage? : Social psychological underpinnings of populism
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Resumo(s)
O populismo tornou-se uma força incontornável na política contemporânea, tendo conseguido alcançar um apoio crescente nas sociedades democráticas. Cada vez mais, os investigadores têm abordado o populismo como um conceito psicossocial, o que se reflete no aumento substancial do número de publicações que estudam a relação entre populismo e identificação nacional. No entanto, este corpo de literatura continua fragmentado e metodologicamente pouco desenvolvido. Além disso, as abordagens tradicionais tendem a conceptualizar a identidade nacional como um antecedente das atitudes populistas, sugerindo que indivíduos com uma identificação nacional mais forte estão mais propensos a apoiar líderes e visões populistas. Esta tese propõe uma reorientação dessa direção causal, investigando se, e de que forma, o populismo contribui para a ativação e reforço da identidade nacional e, por conseguinte, influencia atitudes intergrupais e políticas. Ancorada na Abordagem da Identidade Social e tendo por base quadros conceptuais da ciência política, esta tese adota uma estratégia multi-método que combina uma revisão de escopo, desenhos experimentais e análises baseadas em inquéritos. A revisão de escopo sintetiza a literatura existente (69 artigos, 87 estudos, 232 associações), abrangendo diversos enquadramentos metodológicos, disciplinas científicas e contextos geográficos. Os resultados propõem uma tipologia da relação entre populismo e identidade nacional e revelam associações consistentes entre formas defensivas de identidade (como o nacionalismo e o narcisismo nacional) e o apoio a ideias, líderes ou partidos populistas, enquanto as identidades positivas (como o patriotismo e o vínculo à nação) apresentaram padrões mais dependentes do contexto. A revisão identifica também limitações recorrentes na literatura, incluindo um foco predominante em contextos europeus, a ausência de medidas estandardizadas e o uso generalizado de estudos correlacionais para inferir causalidade. Os estudos empíricos apresentados nos capítulos seguintes fornecem evidência experimental e correlacional de que a retórica populista aumenta a saliência da identidade nacional e que este efeito, por sua vez, prediz atitudes negativas face a imigrantes e elites. Por sua vez, esta mediação é mais forte nos contextos em que existe uma alta exposição aos media na internet, um dos veículos mais comummente utilizados para disseminar ideias populistas. Esta tese demonstra ainda, com base em dados de inquérito, que a identificação nacional funciona como uma variável mediadora entre atitudes populistas e avaliações intergrupais, particularmente nas dimensões de anti-elitismo e soberania popular. Ao propor e testar este caminho causal inverso (i.e., do populismo para a identificação nacional), a tese oferece contributos teóricos e metodológicos relevantes. Sublinha o papel do discurso populista como um ativador situacional da identificação nacional, com consequências subsequentes na cognição e comportamento políticos. Em última análise, esta investigação promove uma compreensão mais dinâmica do populismo, não apenas como uma reação a preocupações identitárias, mas também como um motor de saliência identitária e de diferenciação intergrupal nas democracias contemporâneas.
Populism has become a pronounced force in contemporary politics, gaining traction across democratic societies. Scholars are increasingly approaching populism as a social-psychological concept, which is reflected in the substantial rise in the number of publications studying the relationship between populism and national identification. However, this body of literature remains scattered and methodologically underdeveloped. Furthermore, traditional approaches often conceptualise national identity as an antecedent of populist attitudes, suggesting that individuals with stronger national identification are more prone to endorse populist leaders and worldviews. This thesis proposes a reorientation of this causal direction by investigating whether and how populism contributes to the activation and reinforcement of national identification and, in turn, affects intergroup and political attitudes. Grounded in the Social Identity Approach and informed by Political Science frameworks, this thesis employs a multi-method strategy combining a scoping review, experimentais designs, and survey-based analyses. The scoping review synthesises existing literature (69 articles, 87 studies, 232 associations) covering diverse methodological approaches, disciplinary backgrounds, and geographical contexts. The findings propose a typology of the relationship between populism and national identity and reveal consistent associations between defensive identities (e.g., nationalism and national narcissism) and support for populist ideas, leaders, or parties, while positive identities (e.g., patriotism and attachment) displayed more context-dependent patterns. The review also identifies common limitations in the literature, including a predominant focus on European contexts, a lack of standardised measures, and a general reliance on cross-sectional designs to infer causality. The empirical studies presented in the following chapters provide experimental and cross-sectional evidence that populist rhetoric heightens the salience of national identity and that this effect, in turn, predicts negative attitudes towards immigrants and elites. In turn, this mediation is stronger in contexts with high exposure to online media, one of the most commonly used channels for disseminating populist ideas. This thesis further demonstrates, through survey data, that national identification mediates the link between populist attitudes and group evaluations, particularly for the dimensions of anti-elitism and popular sovereignty. By proposing and testing this reverse causal path (i.e., from populism to national identification), this thesis offers both theoretical and methodological contributions. It underscores the role of populist discourse as a contextual activator of national identification, with downstream consequences for political cognition and behaviour. Ultimately, this research advances a more dynamic understanding of populism as not only a reaction to identity concerns but also a driver of identity salience and intergroup differentiation in contemporary democracies.
Populism has become a pronounced force in contemporary politics, gaining traction across democratic societies. Scholars are increasingly approaching populism as a social-psychological concept, which is reflected in the substantial rise in the number of publications studying the relationship between populism and national identification. However, this body of literature remains scattered and methodologically underdeveloped. Furthermore, traditional approaches often conceptualise national identity as an antecedent of populist attitudes, suggesting that individuals with stronger national identification are more prone to endorse populist leaders and worldviews. This thesis proposes a reorientation of this causal direction by investigating whether and how populism contributes to the activation and reinforcement of national identification and, in turn, affects intergroup and political attitudes. Grounded in the Social Identity Approach and informed by Political Science frameworks, this thesis employs a multi-method strategy combining a scoping review, experimentais designs, and survey-based analyses. The scoping review synthesises existing literature (69 articles, 87 studies, 232 associations) covering diverse methodological approaches, disciplinary backgrounds, and geographical contexts. The findings propose a typology of the relationship between populism and national identity and reveal consistent associations between defensive identities (e.g., nationalism and national narcissism) and support for populist ideas, leaders, or parties, while positive identities (e.g., patriotism and attachment) displayed more context-dependent patterns. The review also identifies common limitations in the literature, including a predominant focus on European contexts, a lack of standardised measures, and a general reliance on cross-sectional designs to infer causality. The empirical studies presented in the following chapters provide experimental and cross-sectional evidence that populist rhetoric heightens the salience of national identity and that this effect, in turn, predicts negative attitudes towards immigrants and elites. In turn, this mediation is stronger in contexts with high exposure to online media, one of the most commonly used channels for disseminating populist ideas. This thesis further demonstrates, through survey data, that national identification mediates the link between populist attitudes and group evaluations, particularly for the dimensions of anti-elitism and popular sovereignty. By proposing and testing this reverse causal path (i.e., from populism to national identification), this thesis offers both theoretical and methodological contributions. It underscores the role of populist discourse as a contextual activator of national identification, with downstream consequences for political cognition and behaviour. Ultimately, this research advances a more dynamic understanding of populism as not only a reaction to identity concerns but also a driver of identity salience and intergroup differentiation in contemporary democracies.
Descrição
Tese de doutoramento em Psicologia (Psicologia Social), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Psicologia, 2026.
Palavras-chave
populism national identification social identity approach immigration attitudes anti-elitism populismo identificação nacional abordagem da identidade social atitudes face à imigração anti-elitismo