The Complexity of Populism New Approaches and Methods

"Populism's diverse political expressions have long been a source of scholarly debate and confusion. In The Complexity of Populism: New Approaches and Methods, leading scholars provide new analytical tools to explain this diversity by conceptualizing populism's multiple dimensions and exploring different methods for the empirical study of both historical and contemporary populisms. The interdisciplinary focus on populism's ideological, communicational, and organizational dimensions offers a framework for comparative analysis that is sure to be very well-received by other scholars looking for coherence amidst populist complexity."

- Kenneth M. Roberts, Professor of Government, Cornell University

'Populism is too often portrayed as a simplistic form of politics. However, this clever and vital volume pushes back against this erroneous assumption by taking the complexity of populism seriously. Recognizing the variation of populist phenomena across the globe, the volume acknowledges the multidimensional nature of populism, suggests new and important methodological avenues for its study, and crucially, embraces interdisciplinarity in examining how populism works. It is vital reading for anyone working on or thinking about populism, both from a theoretical and empirical perspective, and will open up new avenues for studying the most controversial political phenomena of the 21st century.'

-Benjamin Moffitt, Australian Catholic University

'Complexity of Populism is an important contribution for those who want to study populism without taking shortcuts. It recognizes that populism cannot be rendered in a clear and distinct idea and reflects the interpretations of democracy. It shows us that to know populism we must become comparativists and interdisciplinarians, have the patience and humility to get out of comfortable generalizations and go to concrete experiences.'

-Nadia Urbinati, Columbia University