The reversal of populism. Assessing the explanatory power of the ideational approach in contemporary Argentina
| Published date | 01 June 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/01925121211044924 |
| Author | Mariana Sendra,Iván Llamazares |
| Date | 01 June 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Original Research Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/01925121211044924
International Political Science Review
2023, Vol. 44(3) 301 –315
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/01925121211044924
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The reversal of populism.
Assessing the explanatory
power of the ideational approach
in contemporary Argentina
Mariana Sendra and Iván Llamazares
University of Salamanca, Spain
Abstract
In this study we conduct a least-likely case study in order to assess the analytical power of the ideational
approach to populism. We do so by testing the direct and conditional effects of populist attitudes on vote
choices in Argentina. We examine whether populist attitudes are associated with the Peronist vote, as more
essentialist interpretations would lead us to expect, or, on the contrary, linked to vote for right parties, an
expectation that is more consistent with thin-ideological approaches. Our data consists of an original online
survey carried out in September 2020, a specific juncture at which the Peronist government had to deal with
widespread popular discontent caused by intense economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings
reveal that populist attitudes are positively associated with voting for right parties and that the effects of
such attitudes are conditioned by ideological preferences. These results underscore the explanatory power
of ideational approaches to the electoral activation of populist attitudes.
Keywords
Populist attitudes, ideational theory, vote choices, center-right parties, Argentina
Introduction
Populist discourse and ideas have played a crucial role in the formation and evolution of Argentine
mass politics since at least the birth of Radicalism. By directly appealing to the people, rejecting
pacts with entrenched Conservative elites, and advocating radical political change, Hipólito
Yrigoyen started a political tradition aiming at popular hegemony that would characterize Argentine
politics throughout the 20th century (Aboy Carlés, 2013). After the 1940s, the Peronist movement
constituted the most effective and enduring embodiment of populist appeals in the Argentine party
system. This association has no doubt been strengthened by the political economy use of the term
populism to label specific combinations of public policies (Bonvecchi and Novaro, 2021;
Corresponding author:
Mariana Sendra, Faculty of Law, University of Salamanca, Paseo Francisco Tomás y Valiente, Campus Miguel de
Unamuno s/n, Salamanca, 37007, Spain.
Email: msendra@usal.es
1044924IPS0010.1177/01925121211044924International Political Science ReviewSendra and Llamazares
research-article2022
Original Research Article
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