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Comparative Political Studies
2014, Vol. 47(9) 1324 –1353
© The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/0010414013512600
cps.sagepub.com
Article
How Populist Are the
People? Measuring
Populist Attitudes in
Voters
Agnes Akkerman1, Cas Mudde2, and Andrej
Zaslove3
Abstract
The sudden and perhaps unexpected appearance of populist parties in the
1990s shows no sign of immediately vanishing. The lion’s share of the research
on populism has focused on defining populism, on the causes for its rise and
continued success, and more recently on its influence on government and
on public policy. Less research has, however, been conducted on measuring
populist attitudes among voters. In this article, we seek to fill this gap by
measuring populist attitudes and to investigate whether these attitudes can
be linked with party preferences. We distinguish three political attitudes:
(1) populist attitudes, (2) pluralist attitudes, and (3) elitist attitudes. We
devise a measurement of these attitudes and explore their validity by way of
using a principal component analysis on a representative Dutch data set (N =
600). We indeed find three statistically separate scales of political attitudes.
We further validated the scales by testing whether they are linked to party
preferences and find that voters who score high on the populist scale have
a significantly higher preference for the Dutch populist parties, the Party for
Freedom, and the Socialist Party.
1Department of Sociology, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2Department of International Affairs, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
3Department of Political Science, Institute for Management Research, Radboud University, the
Netherlands
Corresponding Author:
Andrej Zaslove, Department of Political Science, Institute for Management Research, Radboud
University, P.O. Box 9108 6500HK, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Email: a.zaslove@fm.ru.nl
512600CPSXXX10.1177/0010414013512600Comparative Political StudiesAkkerman et al.
research-article2013
Akkerman et al. 1325
Keywords
populism, measuring populism, voter attitudes, left populism, radical right
populism
Introduction
The sudden and unexpected rise of populist parties since the 1990s has shown
no immediate sign of abating. The populist radical right is the most success-
ful new party family in postwar Western Europe (e.g., Mudde, 2007), the Tea
Party has become an influential political force in the United States (e.g.,
Skocpol & Williamson, 2012), and populist leaders have proven to be lasting
figures in Latin American politics (e.g., Remmer, 2012). In addition to this
geographical diversity, populist parties span the left–right political spectrum:
from the populist radical right such as the National Front in France or One
Nation in Australia, to neoliberal populists like Berlusconi in Italy and
Fujimori in Peru, to left-wing populists such as Chávez in Venezuela, and The
Left in Germany.
The continued success of populism is reflected in the academic literature
(Bale, 2012; Mudde, 2007). The lion’s share of this research has focused on
defining populism (e.g., Albertazzi & McDonnell, 2008a; Hawkins, 2009;
Mudde, 2004; Weyland, 2001; Zaslove, 2008), on explaining the rise and
continued success of populist parties (e.g., Albertazzi & McDonnell, 2008b;
Mény & Surel, 2002b; Mudde, 2007), and more recently on assessing their
influence on the political system (e.g., Akkerman, 2012; Albertazzi &
McDonnell, 2005, 2010; Mudde & Rovira Kaltwasser, 2012b). Much less
research has been conducted on measuring populist attitudes at the mass level
(few exceptions include: Elchardus & Spruyt, 2012; Hawkins, Riding, &
Mudde, 2012; Stanley, 2011). To be sure, numerous studies have focused on
(supposedly) related attitudes, such as trust and satisfaction with democracy
and/or immigration (e.g., Doyle, 2011; Fieschi & Heywood, 2004; Ivarsflaten,
2008; Norris, 2005; Oesch, 2008), assuming that low levels of trust or satis-
faction with democracy and opposition to immigration are related to popu-
lism or that they serve as a breeding ground for (right-wing) populism.
As illuminating as these studies are, they do not directly measure populist
attitudes. First, we should not assume that populism is automatically linked
with opposition to immigration (March, 2011; Mudde & Rovira Kaltwasser,
2013). And, second, even though low levels of trust and satisfaction with
democracy may constitute a breeding ground for populism, they are not direct
measures of populist attitudes among the voting public per se (Mudde, 2007;
Norris, 2005).
In this article, we seek to measure populist attitudes directly and to inves-
tigate whether these attitudes can be linked with party preferences. The
1326 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
article is organized as follows. First, we construct a minimal definition of
populism (Mudde, 2007; Mudde & Rovira Kaltwasser, 2012a; Weyland,
2001). Building on this definition, and on earlier attempts to measure popu-
lism (notably Hawkins et al., 2012), we, subsequently, construct a measure of
populism that is both theoretically sound and empirically robust. This mea-
sure constitutes the basis for a series of questions that have been adopted for
a web-based survey conducted in the Netherlands (N = 600). We perform a
principal component analysis (PCA) to investigate whether it is possible to
identify a populist dimension and distinguish it from other, related, ideologi-
cal constructs, such as pluralism and elitism. Finally, we link these attitudes
to voting preference for specific parties.
Populism Defined
It is common for academic scholarship to proclaim that populism is a (essen-
tially) contested concept. The contention is that controversy over competing
definitions is intrinsic to the field of populism. However, while such contro-
versy did exist in earlier periods (Canovan, 1981; Ionescu & Gellner, 1969),
this is no longer the case. Or, perhaps better said, there is currently much less
controversy over how to define populism than ever before. The large number
of (especially recent) studies of populism, most specifically in Europe and
the Americas, has led to more consensus than is commonly acknowledged.
This is not to say that populism in, for example, Latin America and in Europe
is identical. Mudde and Rovira Kaltwasser (2013) note that populism in Latin
America is left-wing, economic, and inclusive, while in Europe it is right-
wing, identity-based and exclusionary.
The perceived confusion over how to define populism stems in part from
the important role that context plays in determining the ideological positions
of the populist actor (Mudde & Rovira Kaltwasser, 2013). Context can influ-
ence, for example, whether the populist actor focuses on (opposing) global-
ization, immigration, imperialism, or Islam. Moreover, as populism is a
thin-centered ideology (see below), it rarely exists on its own; it mostly
attaches itself to other ideologies ranging from (neo-) liberalism, the radical
right, to socialism (Mudde & Rovira Kaltwasser, 2013; Weyland, 1996;
Zaslove, 2008). Any definition of populism must take these considerations
into account, that is, it must be positioned at a high enough level of abstrac-
tion to “travel” across the ideological spectrum and across geographical
regions. However, at the same time it is important not to stretch the concept
too far, that is, it must be context-sensitive (Sartori, 1970). To achieve this,
we use the following minimal definition, which includes only the necessary
and sufficient conditions: Populism is a “thin-centered ideology that consid-
ers society to be ultimately separated into two homogeneous and antagonistic
Akkerman et al. 1327
groups, ‘the pure people’ versus the ‘corrupt elite,’ and which argues that
politics should be an expression of the volonté générale (general will) of the
people” (Mudde, 2007, p. 23).
Our minimal definition begins with a common starting point: the people.
Populists define “the people” as the core and the heart of democracy. To be
sure, this is not unique to populists: The sovereignty of the people also con-
stitutes a core and defining feature of liberal democracy, often referred to as
the representative pillar (Mair, 2002; Mény & Surel, 2002a). However, popu-
lists have a very specific understanding of the people. The people are viewed
not only as sovereign, but also as homogeneous, pure, and virtuous. The
people represent the backbone of society; they are the silent majority, consti-
tuting the basis of the good society (Albertazzi & McDonnell, 2008a; Mény
& Surel, 2002a; Mudde, 2004; Zaslove, 2008). They are what Taggart (2002)
refers to as the heartland.
The people are subsequently contrasted with the elite, that is, those who
threaten the purity and unity of the sovereign people. The elite is seen as
“evil,” while the people are seen as “good.” This distinction between “good”
and “evil,” or “pure” and “corrupt,” is an essential distinction and a defining
feature of populism; it further separates the populist concept of the people
from that of the mainstream parties. The tension between “the people” and
“the elite” is Manichean, that is, it has essentially a moral quality (Hawkins,
2009; Mudde, 2004).
Clearly defining a concept implies also defining what the concept is not
(Goertz, 2006; Sartori, 1970). This provides theoretical clarity and clear
boundaries between the concept and the non-concept. Furthermore, distin-
guishing between populism and non-populism increases the validity of the
measure in the empirical stage. In this article, we contrast populism with
pluralism and elitism (Hawkins et al., 2012; Mudde, 2004). Populists are
skeptical of one of the cornerstones of liberal democracy, pluralism (Hawkins,
2009; Mudde, 2007; Plattner, 2010). Animosity toward pluralism emanates
from the idea that the people are pure and homogeneous. Mudde (2007) notes
that “populism is essentially a monist ideology, it is inherently opposed to
division and pluralism” (p. 151). More specifically, populists are skeptical of
the key features and institutional structures that are intrinsic to pluralism, that
is, compromise, mediating institutional bodies, and procedures that ensure,
most notably, minority rights. In opposition to a pluralist conception of
democracy, there is an elective affinity with plebiscitary politics and the per-
sonalization of power (Mudde, 2007, 150-57; Weyland, 2001). Plebiscitary
politics and direct personal representation, it is argued, are the best means for
the direct and unmediated representation of the people. Obviously, it is often
the populist leader who embodies the will of the homogeneous and sovereign
people (Barr, 2009; Weyland, 2001; Zaslove, 2008).1
1328 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
Theoretically, elitism represents the mirror image of populism (Mudde,
2004, 543-44). However, at the same time, elitism shares a key feature with
populism: the Manichean division of society into the people and the elite. In
sharp contrast to populism, elitism considers “the elite” as pure and virtuous
and “the people” as corrupt. In practice, however, populism often has an
ambiguous relationship with elitism. Even though populists call for more
(direct) democracy, populist movements are often led by charismatic leaders
and organized in highly centralized and personalized parties. Hence, it is not
surprising that several definitions include leadership and charisma as defin-
ing features of populism (Plattner, 2010; Taggart, 2000; Weyland, 2001). And
while elitism, charismatic leadership, and personalization are not the same
thing, they often convey a similarly hierarchical concept of leadership.
Moreover, elitism shares with populism a distain for politics as usual.
Therefore, it is possible that, at least in practice, populist and elitist ideas are
not necessarily mutually exclusive, but rather might overlap to some extent.
Measuring Populism: Data and Method
Treating populism as a thin-centered ideology implies that populism consists
of a set of ideas concerning the world, democracy, and political representa-
tion (Hawkins, 2009; Hawkins et al., 2012). An added advantage of this
approach is that populism can be measured in party manifestos, speeches, and
at the individual level.
Recently, political scientists have begun to measure populism empirically.
So far, the focus has been primarily on the internal supply-side, that is, on
party platforms, party manifestoes, and leader speeches. A variety of tech-
niques have been used, from holistic qualitative coding, paragraph coding, to
computerized content analyses (Hawkins, 2009; Pauwels, 2011a; Rooduijn,
de Lange, & van der Brug, 2012; Rooduijn & Pauwels, 2011). Less promi-
nent in the literature are measurements of populist attitudes at the individual
level.
The first attempt at measuring populist attitudes at the micro level was
published more than 45 years ago (Axelrod, 1967). However, it was based on
a very U.S. centric and, by now, dated conceptualization of populism.2 Only
in the last couple of years new empirical studies have been published
(Elchardus & Spruyt, 2012; Hawkins et al., 2012; Stanley, 2011).
Stanley (2011) tested a series of populist survey questions in a post-elec-
tion survey in Slovakia. However, the populist attitudes in this attempt do not
significantly explain voting behavior: Variables relating to national and eco-
nomic issues better explain vote choice. As the author notes, there may be
several reasons for these non-significant results. First, the populist parties
Akkerman et al. 1329
were in government at the time of the survey, which might have made it dif-
ficult for respondents to separate the populists from the elite. Second, it might
have been problematic, especially in the Slovak post-communist context, to
disentangle the populist message from deeper concerns regarding national
interests and economic social solidarity. Third, the questions might not have
adequately captured the concept of populism (Stanley, 2011).
Elchardus and Spruyt (2012) conducted their research in Flanders, the
Dutch-speaking northern part of Belgium. Their survey combined four popu-
lism questions3 with variables that measure economic position, life satisfac-
tion, anomie, relative deprivation, and perception of the general state of
society. While the study found some interesting correlations between both
relative deprivation and feelings of unjust treatment and between authoritar-
ian attitudes and “populism,” it is less clear whether the authors are, in fact,
measuring populism per se. The very high number of respondents that agree
with the four populism questions (Elchardus & Spruyt, 2012, 118) seems to
indicate that they are rather tapping into broader anti-establishment senti-
ments. Even though populist parties have received significant support in
Flanders over the years (Pauwels, 2011b), their electoral support was never
nowhere near the support Elchardus and Spruyt (2012) found for “populist”
attitudes.
The third study, by Hawkins et al. (2012), uses an innovative research
design, based on a clear definition of populism. Most importantly, it seeks not
only to measure populism, but also the two main opposites: pluralism and
elitism. Their approach, which created these three distinct political attitudes
on the basis of a combination of existing and original questions, allows for a
better validity check of populism.4 The study by Hawkins et al. (2012) is
therefore an important first step in creating a set of questions that measure
populism and pluralism, while they also make important advances toward
assembling questions that measure elitist attitudes.
Our research design and populist measure benefits from the previous stud-
ies, in particular the last one. However, we are also able to improve on them
on several essential points. First, we improve on both Hawkins et al. (2012)
and Stanley’s (2011) by defining and operationalizing all three dimensions
(populism, pluralism, and elitism) and by strengthening the validity test of
the populist measure. Second, we measure the populist dimension on the full
range of its defining characteristics, that is, to ensure that we are not simply
tapping into anti-establishment sentiments (Elchardus & Spruyt, 2012). To
accomplish this, we include additional questions to those used by Hawkins et
al.: two new questions that we created for the survey (our POP3 and POP4)
and two questions that Hawkins et al. suggested to be included in the populist
dimension in future studies (our POP5 and POP7).5 And finally, we more
1330 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
clearly define and operationalize the third dimension, elitism, and add a
newly created question (our E1).
Finally, the Dutch case is a much better test of the face-validity of our
populism variable (see also below). Hawkins et al. (2012) test their populism
measure, with socioeconomic and attitudinal items that are associated with
populism, in the United States. Hence, the authors are not able to test whether
populists also support populist parties per se. The strong presence of populist
parties in the Netherlands, and the existence of both a left-wing and right-
wing populist party (unlike in Flanders; cf. Elchardus & Spruyt, 2012), per-
mits us to better test the validity of the measure, that is, whether populist
attitudes correlate with populist parties. In addition, the Dutch party system,
being more institutionalized than the Slovak party system (cf. Stanley, 2011),
provides a better environment to test the measure of populist attitudes.
Data
For the empirical analysis, we use a survey of over 600 Dutch citizens held in
November 2011. A professional survey company (MWM2) carried out the
survey, which was funded by the multidisciplinary research group Discon in
the Faculty of Management Sciences at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the
Netherlands. The questionnaire of this web-based survey was sent to 981
members of an existing panel group of Dutch citizens. The panel participants
are recruited via the Internet and consist of individuals who regularly partici-
pate in panels organized by the survey company. The panels are regularly
updated to ensure high response rates and sample sizes. Given that internet
coverage is higher than the listed phone numbers in the country, internet sur-
veys can be considered to be reliable and valid means for conducting surveys
in the Netherlands.6
A total of 631 respondents completed the survey, which is a response rate
of 64.3%. To reduce possible biases due to age, region, and gender in our
analyses, we used a small weight factor for these variables (see Table A1 in
the online appendix).7 The average time for completing the questionnaire was
25 min. We excluded all respondents who took 10 min or less, since pilot
testing indicated that it was impossible to fill in the questionnaire in a serious
way in less than 10 min for someone not already familiar with the question-
naire. The remaining 586 respondents (59.7%) were used for the analysis.
Variables
Populist attitudes. The above-mentioned definition of populism serves as the
basis for our survey questions and our measurement model of populist atti-
tudes. The focus of the questions is on the three core features of populism:
Akkerman et al. 1331
sovereignty of the people, opposition to the elite, and the Manichean division
between “good” and “evil.” The survey questions are designed to capture the
full ideology of populism and its conception of democracy, in particular the
will of the people (their sovereignty) and the distinction between the people
and the elite. The Manichean nature of the distinction between the people and
the elites is also a feature of our survey questions: statements POP5, POP6,
and POP7 are intended to emphasize that the distinction between the people
and the elite is a battle between good and evil. Respondents were asked to
rate their agreement with the eight populism questions on a Likert scale rang-
ing from 1 (I very much disagree) to 5 (I very much agree).
Pluralist attitudes. The pluralism questions focus on the core dimensions that
value compromise, different viewpoints, and the need to listen to dissenting
voices. Although more aspects of pluralism are suggested in the literature, we
are here first and foremost interested in those aspects that mirror the core
features of populism. For this purpose, we used the Pluralist statements in
Table 1 (beginning with “PLU”).8 We expect pluralists to be much more
accommodating to diversity and a plurality of voices. The respondents were
asked to rate their agreement with these statements on a Likert scale ranging
from 1 (I very much disagree) to 5 (I very much agree).
Elitist attitudes. To capture elitism, we have included statements that capture
its core dimensions, in particular the extent to which “elites” should lead the
people. Hence, unlike in the populist statements, the focus is on strong and
decisive leadership as well as a distain for contemporary politicians.9 Hence,
Table 1. Items Measuring Populist, Pluralist, and Elitist Attitudes.
POP1 The politicians in the Dutch parliament need to follow the will of the people.
POP2 The people, and not politicians, should make our most important policy decisions.
POP3 The political differences between the elite and the people are larger than the differences among the people.
POP4 I would rather be represented by a citizen than by a specialized politician.
POP5 Elected officials talk too much and take too little action.
POP6 Politics is ultimately a struggle between good and evil.
POP7 What people call “compromise” in politics is really just selling out on one’s principles.
POP8 Interest groups have too much influence over political decisions.
PLU1 In a democracy it is important to make compromises among differing viewpoints.
PLU2 It is important to listen to the opinion of other groups.
PLU3 Diversity limits my freedom.a
E1 Politicians should lead rather than follow the people.
E2 Our country would be governed better if important decisions were left up to successful business people.
E3 Our country would be governed better if important decisions were left up to independent experts.
aFormulate in reverse of the original statement.
1332 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
we have inserted questions that focus on alternative forms of leadership, that
is, leadership by experts and by business. We used the Elitist statements
(beginning with “E”) shown in Table 1. The respondents were asked to rate
their agreement with these statements on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (I very
much disagree) to 5 (I very much agree).
Voting preference. Finally, voting preference is measured by the question:
What party would you vote for, if elections for parliament were held today?
In addition to all the political parties in the Dutch parliament (Second Cham-
ber) at that time, we offered the following answer categories: the parties
Proud of the Netherlands (TON) and 50Plus, “I would cast a blank vote,” “I
don’t want to tell,” “I don’t know,” “I would not vote,” and “another party,
namely . . ..” Table A2 in the online appendix shows the distribution of party
preferences in our sample.
Results
Political Attitudes
To determine whether different dimensions were present in our data set, we
performed a PCA on all the 14 items, using Oblimin rotation to extract the
components (see Table 2).10 This PCA resulted in three factors with an
Eigenvalue equal or larger than 1, explaining over 50% of the total variance.
With the exception of one item, all items loaded higher than the generally
accepted lower bound of .45. We deleted loading item “Interest groups have
too much influence over political decisions,” since it loads insufficiently on
each of the three dimensions. We also deleted the PLU3 question (“Diversity
limits my freedom”), since it loaded low on the pluralism scale (see below).
Although it loads relatively high on the Elitism scale, there is no clear and
convincing theoretical link between this specific item and elitism.
Six populist statements load high on the populist dimension: POP1 through
POP5 and POP7. The first four items reflect ideas about representative gov-
ernment, reflecting the ideas that there is a division between the people and
the politicians (the elite) and that politicians do not represent the true will of
the people. In addition, POP3 (“The political differences between the elite
and the people are larger than the differences among the people”) focuses on
the idea that the people have more in common with one another than with the
elite. The ideas on this scale express a view of the political world that resem-
bles the belief in popular sovereignty combined with a negative view of
Akkerman et al. 1333
Table 2. Results of Factor and Reliability Analysis.
Factor I Factor II Factor III
Eigenvalue
4.21
Eigenvalue
1.67
Eigenvalue
1.27
Item:
% squared loadings
(after rotation)
Cum.51.05%
30% 11.9% 9.1%
POP1 The politicians
in the Dutch
Parliament need to
follow the will of the
people.
.760
Populist Attitude scale
(Chronbach’s D= 0.82)
.179 .035
POP2 The people,
and not politicians,
should make our
most important
policy decisions.
.762 –.061 .206
POP3 The political
differences between
the elite and the
people are larger
than the differences
among the people.
.674 .219 .292
POP4 I would rather
be represented
by a citizen than
by a specialized
politician.c
.643 –.029 .547
POP5 Elected officials
talk too much
and take too little
action.b
.680 .241 .353
POP7 What people
call “compromise”
in politics is really
just selling out on
one’s principles.c
.696 –.003 .523
PLU1 In a democracy
it is important to
make compromises
among differing
viewpoints.
.051 .831
Pluralist
Attitude scale
(Chronbach’s
D = 0.60)
–.032
PLU2 It is important
to listen to the
opinion of other
groups.
.342 .696 .083
(continued)
1334 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
Factor I Factor II Factor III
Eigenvalue
4.21
Eigenvalue
1.67
Eigenvalue
1.27
E1 Politicians should
lead rather than
follow the people.
.018 .423 .661
Elitist Attitude scale
(Chronbach’s D = .48)
E2 Our country
would be governed
better if important
decisions were left
up to successful
business people.b
.251 .042 .593
E3 Our country
would be governed
better if important
decisions were left
up to independent
experts.b,c
.525 .272 .403
POP6 Politics is
ultimately a struggle
between good and
evil.
.315 –.140 .497
PLU3 Diversity limits
my freedom.a
.354 –.262 .654 Not in
analysis
POP8 Interest
groups have too
much influence over
political decisions.d
.256 .395 .366 Not in
analysis
aOriginal item reversed.
bSlight adjustment of the original for translation purposes.
cAllocated to elitist scale for substantive and statistical reasons.
dLeft out of the analysis due to insufficient loading.
Table 2. (continued)
representative government, directed primarily at existing politicians (Hawkins
et al., 2012; Mudde, 2004).
The Manichean dimension, that is, the tension between “good” and “evil,”
is captured in the questions POP5 through POP7. The first Manichean state-
ment, POP5 (“Elected officials talk too much and take too little action”),
loads high on the populist dimension. However, this is not the case for the
second Manichean statement, POP6 (“Politics is ultimately a struggle
between good and evil”). Two explanations can be put forward for its insuf-
ficient loading: either the item does not capture aspects of the populism
Akkerman et al. 1335
dimension, and is a more appropriate item for measuring elitist attitude, or
respondents had difficulties in interpreting POP6. The statement was origi-
nally developed for the Latin American context, where populist leaders use a
more religiously inspired discourse than in the more secularized Netherlands
(see Hawkins, 2009). It is also possible that this question, which refers to
“good” and (particularly) “evil,” was interpreted more strictly along religious
lines in the Netherlands. This seems to be supported by the fact that we found
significant higher mean scores on this item for all, but the protestant religious
respondents, compared with non-religious respondents.
Item POP7 (“What people call ‘compromise’ in politics is really just sell-
ing out on one’s principles”) loads high on both the populism dimension and
the elitism dimension. This makes theoretical sense: Elitism is populism’s
mirror image, while sharing its Manichean distinction between good and evil.
This seems to be confirmed by not just the high loading of POP7 on the elit-
ism and populism dimensions, but also by its low loading on the pluralism
dimension. It is theoretically consistent that those who support compromise
and the importance of listening to other groups oppose an item that frames
compromise in a negative light.
The second dimension contains two items, reflecting political ideas that
favor diversity. This perspective accepts different views (PLU2) and acknowl-
edges that the interests of opposing groups should be acknowledged through
compromise (PLU1). The intention was to have three items for this scale, but
we find that the PLU3 item (“Diversity limits my freedom”) does not load
well on the pluralism dimension.11 Importantly, both PLU1 and PLU2 load
low on the populism and elitism dimensions. Thus, in line with the theory, the
items loading high on the pluralism dimension are clearly distinguished from
the other two dimensions.
The third dimension reflects a particular dissatisfaction with who repre-
sents the people: This dimension is intended to capture the elitist dimension.
In some aspects this is clear; for example, regarding question E1 (“Politicians
should lead rather than follow the people”). As theoretically expected, this
item loads high on elitism, but low on populism. In addition, the item that
favors government by successful business leaders (E2) gravitates toward the
elitist dimension. Theoretically, this makes sense, as most ordinary people
consider the business class as part of the elite. What is interesting, however,
is the degree to which the item on the rule by independent experts (E3) loads
on the populist dimension. In fact, this items loads higher on the populism
dimension than on the elitism dimension, although the difference is not very
large.
Though there is a clear empirical distinction between elitism and popu-
lism, the elitist dimension is not as clearly distinct from the populism dimen-
sion as from the pluralism dimension. This reflects the complex theoretical
1336 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
relation between elitism and populism. On the one hand, populism opposes
elitism, but, on the other, populism and elitism do share some key features.
Most importantly, populists and elitists are both skeptical of politicians; for
elitists this is reflected in support for “successful business persons” and
“independent experts” over existing politicians. In the case of populists, not
surprisingly, this is reflected first and foremost in their preference for ordi-
nary citizens, but also in support for independent experts. Although perhaps
initially surprising, these findings fit well with the claim that populism is
reluctantly political (Taggart, 2002, p. 69). Moreover, populists have champi-
oned the role of independent experts (over professional politicians) in politics
(Taggart, 2000, p. 68). In the Netherlands, the late Pim Fortuyn, the country’s
most famous populist, was an avowed champion of a larger role for indepen-
dent experts in Dutch politics (Fortuyn, 2002).
From dimensions to scales. From the factors we constructed three scales
(means of the sum scores), based on the item’s highest factor loading, with
one exception: the item on the representation by independent experts. This
item loads highest on the Populism scale, but the difference with its loading
on the Elitism scale is low. For theoretical reasons, we allocated this item to
the Elitism scale. We constructed a Populism scale of the items POP1-5 and
POP7 (Chronbach’s α = .82), a Pluralism scale on the basis of the items PLU1
and PLU2 (Chronbach’s α = .60), and an Elitism scale of the items POP6 and
E1-E3 (Chronbach’s α = .48). Table A3 in the online appendix reports on the
descriptives of all separate items and the inter-item correlations.
Correlations between the scales. In assessing the three dimensions, it is impor-
tant to note that there is no theoretical reason for these scales to be mutually
exclusive: individuals can score on each scale simultaneously, although some
combinations are more likely than others. For instance, people can hold pop-
ulist attitudes, but still prefer a professional (populist) politician to a regular
citizen, or they may be populist because they are dissatisfied with the ruling
elite. The data show that this is indeed the case: the Populism scale correlates
significantly and positively with the Elitism scale (Pearson’s R = .480, p <
.01, two-tailed test). A strong association is less likely between the Elitism
scale and the Pluralism scale, because the compromises praised in pluralism
are condemned in elitism. Although there is a positive and significant correla-
tion between the Pluralism and the Elitism scales, it is rather weak (Pearson’s
R = .199, p < .01, two-tailed test). The relation between the Populism and the
Pluralism scales is positive as well (Pearson’s R = .200, p < .01, two-tailed
test), indicating that at least some individuals with populist attitudes also
accept different views and support the need for compromises between differ-
ent viewpoints.
Akkerman et al. 1337
Political Attitudes and Party Preference
Contextualizing Populism
The Netherlands constitutes an ideal case for testing the validity of our mea-
surement of populism. First, the country has a strong presence of populist
parties (e.g., Lucardie, 2008; Lucardie & Voerman, 2012). Since 2002, popu-
list parties have gained on average almost 21% of the vote in elections (see
Table 3). The presence of multiple populist parties enables us to run a validity
check of our measurement of populism, allowing us to test the degree to
which populism is associated with voting for populist parties. Second, the
Netherlands is a multiparty system, which offers voters frustrated with the
more established or mainstream parties a number of possible exit strategies
(consisting of mainstream, non-mainstream, and populist parties), which per-
mits us to better disentangle populism from simple vote-switching and pro-
test voting. Third, the Netherlands is one of the few countries in which both
left-wing (Socialist Party, SP) and right-wing populist parties (notably the
Party for Freedom, PVV) have been successful at the same time. This allows
for an interesting comparison of populist attitudes of supporters of left-wing
and right-wing populist parties. Fourth, and final, the Dutch political system
has many characteristics that authors have identified as being particularly
prone to a populist backlash (e.g., Andeweg, De Winter, & Müller, 2008;
Betz, 2002; Kitschelt, 2002).
The sustainability of populism in the Netherlands is rather surprising,
given that it came rather late to the country (Rydgren & Holsteyn, 2005).
Until the arrival of Pim Fortuyn in 2002, populism was less prevalent in the
Netherlands than in much of Europe. There had been some exceptions, such
as the Farmer’s Party (BP) in the late 1960s and the early 1970s and the SP
under Jan Marijnissen in the 1990s (Lucardie & Voerman, 2012). However,
Table 3. Percentage of the Vote Obtained by a Populist Party in the National
Elections for the Dutch Parliament (Tweede Kamer), 2002-2012.
Party 2002 2003 2006 2010 2012
List Pim Fortuyn (LPF) 17 5.7 0.2 — —
Proud of the Netherlands (TON) — — — 0.6 —
Party for Freedom (PVV) — — 5.9 15.5 10.1
Socialist Party (SP) 5.9 6.3 16.6 9.8 9.7
Total % populist vote 22.9 12.0 22.7 25.9 19.8
Source: Kiesraad (http://www.verkiezingsuitslagen.nl/).
1338 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
the real surge in populism started only in 2002 with Pim Fortuyn. And
although Fortuyn himself had a more pluralist understanding of the people
than many populists, the List Pim Fortuyn (LPF) was clearly a populist party
(Lucardie, 2008).12
There has been a steady wave of populists since the short-lived LPF. Rita
Verdonk’s TON was a populist party.13 Verdonk claimed to represent the ordi-
nary people vis-à-vis the elite, demanded direct democracy, and opposed
alleged external threats to the Dutch people, such as immigrants (Lucardie &
Voerman, 2012; Vossen, 2010). However, the most important populist party
in the Netherlands is Geert Wilders’ PVV, which combines a Manichean dis-
tinction between the people and the elite with a vehement anti-immigrant
(anti-Islam) and law and order discourse, which places him solidly within the
category of the populist radical right. Since its formation in 2006, the PVV
has become more and more populist (Vossen, 2010). Finally, the SP has been
classified as a populist party for most of the period since its (in)famous “Vote
Against, Vote SP” (Stem Tegen, Stem SP) campaign of 1994.14
Political attitudes and party preference. In this second part of the analysis, we
seek to determine the relationship between populist, pluralist, and elitist atti-
tudes and party preferences, more specifically between the PVV, the SP, and
the non-populist Dutch mainstream parties. Hence, we compared the mean
scores on the attitude scales by party preference. Figure 1 depicts both the
mean scores and the confidence interval for the mean scores (>95%) for the
parties (n > 20) on the Populism scale.15
Figure 1 shows that respondents who would vote for the SP have the high-
est mean on the Populism scale, quite similar to the PVV. The mean of the
social democratic Labor Party (PvdA) is closer to the overall mean and dif-
fers significantly from the mean scores of the SP and the PVV (t-value 2.7, p
< .01 and t-value 2.9, p < .005, respectively). The PvdA holds a cutoff point
between the populist (SP and PVV) and the non-populist parties. The mean
score of the PvdA voters is significantly higher (t-value 2.6, p < .01) than that
of the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). The
results of all t-tests are available in Table A4 in the online appendix. To sum
up, those who scored high on the Populism scale also support the two Dutch
parties that are considered to be populist, that is, the PVV and the SP.
Figure 2 shows the mean scores and confidence intervals (>95%) on the
Pluralism scale. The first two pluralism questions loaded on a single dimen-
sion and, as predicted, the PVV voters score lowest on this scale. Although
somewhat higher, the mean score of the VVD voters does not differ signifi-
cantly from that of the PVV voters. On the Pluralism scale, however, the
VVD voters hold a cutoff position between the PVV and the rest of the
Akkerman et al. 1339
parties: while the PVV voters’ mean score differs significantly from those of
the voters of all other parties, the mean score of the VVD voters does not. The
mean score of the SP voters is significantly higher than that of the PVV
(t-value 1.7, p < .1), implying that SP voters (on average) are more positive
toward diverse opinions and groups within society than PVV voters. The
mean scores of the other parties do not significantly differ from those of the
SP voters (The results of all t-test are available in Table A4 in the online
appendix).
The differences between the PVV and SP are initially surprising. However,
additional analyses of the mean scores of the separate items of the Pluralism
scale provide a further important distinction between the two parties regard-
ing pluralism. On the PLU1 item (“In a democracy it is important to make
compromises among differing viewpoints”), both parties are skeptical. In
other words, the supporters of both parties oppose compromise. However, the
SP voters are much more willing to listen to the opinion of others: on the
PLU2 item (“It is important to listen to the opinion of other groups”) they
were more accommodating than the voters of all parties except the Christian
Figure 1. Populist attitude by party preference (reference line is total mean).
1340 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
Democratic Appeal (CDA). Figures 3 and 4 show the results of these separate
analyses.
Thus, SP voters agree that it is important to listen to the viewpoint of oth-
ers, while PVV voters do not (t-value 3.4, p < .001). However, the SP voters
are as averse to compromise as the PVV voters. These findings complement
supply-side studies: De Lange and Rooduijn (2011) contend that the SP’s
conceptualization of the people is less exclusionary than that of the PVV,
while Mudde and Rovira Kaltwasser (2013) found that left-wing populism
(in Latin America) is less exclusionary than right-wing populism (in Western
Europe).
Finally, Figure 5 depicts the mean scores on the Elitism scale. In contrast
with expectations from the populism literature, the means scores of the SP
and PVV voters are the highest on this scale, closely followed by those of the
CDA.16 Two explanations are possible: (1) the SP and PVV may attract both
populists and elitists, or (2) populist parties attract support from individuals
who possess both populist and elitist attitudes. It appears that both are in fact
true.
Figure 2. Pluralist attitude by party preference (reference line is total mean).
Akkerman et al. 1341
The correlation between populism and elitism is relatively high for both
the SP (Pearson’s R = .526, p < 0.01) and the PVV (Pearson’s R = .436, p <
0.01) implying that a part of the voters who are attracted to these parties
hold—at least to some extent—both populist and elitist attitudes. On the
other hand, as the correlation already indicates, this correlation is not perfect,
meaning that another part of the SP and PVV voters scores high on one of the
attitudes, while scoring low on the other.17 In other words, the populist mes-
sage of the parties may attract the populist voters, while there may also be
something about populist parties (charismatic leadership, centralized parties,
the so-called outsider status of the leader) that also appeals to those with
higher elitist attitudes.
To furthe r u nderst and the co mplex rela tio ns hip betwe en populi sm and elit-
ism, we also examined the four elitist items separately (see Figures 6 through
9). At first sight, support for the independent expert item may be surprising
given that populists espouse the will of the people (see Figure 8). However,
two caveats are in order. First, as noted above, some populist parties do advo-
cate a role for independent experts. Second, populism scholars emphasize the
Figure 3. Mean scores on item “In a democracy it is important to make compromises
among differing viewpoints” by party preference.
Reference line is the total mean.
1342 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
reluctantly political nature of populist parties, arguing that they demand clear,
“no non-sense” solutions to complex problems (Taggart, 2002).
As noted earlier, elitism and populism share a Manichaean element. This is
reflected in particular in the high scores of the SP voters on the item “Politics
is ultimately a struggle between good and evil” (see Figure 9). Finally, PVV
and SP supporters differ regarding the role of successful business people. PVV
supporters do not oppose using successful business people for political pur-
poses (they were much in line with the market-oriented conservative-liberal
party, the VVD), while the SP supporters were the most skeptical in this regard
(see Figure 7). In fact, this is consistent with the different economic positions
of the two parties: the PVV is overall supportive of capitalism, advocating
lower taxes and less economic regulation, while the SP is (traditionally) a
socialist party that is highly suspicious of the market economy.
None-Voters
A final interesting finding is the relation between those who declare “I would
not vote” and populism. At this point, we are only in a position to make some
Figure 4. Mean scores on item “It is important to list to the opinion of other groups”
by party preference.
Reference line is the total mean.
Akkerman et al. 1343
tentative comments, given the low number of “non-voters” and the large con-
fidence intervals (see the category “I would not vote” in the figures). However,
interestingly, those who declare “I would not vote” have a high mean on the
Populism scale; it is the third highest on the Populism scale, behind the PVV
and the SP (see Figure 1), and the lowest on the Pluralism scale (see Figure 2).
In addition, even though the mean of non-voters is not particularly high on
the Elitism scale (see Figure 5), non-voters score high on “Politics is ulti-
mately a struggle between good and evil” (i.e., the Manichean item) and on
the independent expert item (see Figures 8 and 9). In sum, a large number of
respondents who declare that “they would not vote” possess strong populist
attitudes, just like those declaring their intention to vote for the PVV and SP.
This begs the question: why do some voters with high populist attitudes vote
for populist parties, while others do not vote at all?
Conclusion
Building on previous efforts, this article demonstrates that it is possible to
measure populist attitudes at the individual level in a theoretically consistent
Figure 5. Elitist attitude by party preference.
Reference line is the total mean.
1344 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
and empirically robust manner. The PCA demonstrates considerable consis-
tency. A multi-item Populism scale was constructed, which could not only be
clearly identified, but was also found to correlate with the Elitism scale. In
addition, a Pluralism scale was clearly distinguished from the other two
scales: items that scored high on the pluralism dimension did not score high
on the other two. Of particular interest is the extent to which the Populism
scale is distinct from the Pluralism and the Elitism scales. These findings
were much more conclusive than in previous studies (Hawkins et al., 2012),
which was probably due to the more extensive set of populism and elitism
questions that we used.
Going beyond previous studies (Elchardus & Spruyt, 2012; Hawkins
et al., 2012), we linked populist attitudes to party preferences. And, unlike
Stanley (2011), we found a significant and positive correlation between pop-
ulist attitudes and the intention to vote for populist political parties. This is
the case for both the right-wing populist PVV and the left-wing populist SP.
At the same time, our study also indicates that there is a distinction between
Figure 6. Mean scores on item “Politicians should lead rather than follow the people”
by party preference.
Reference line is the total mean.
Akkerman et al. 1345
left-wing and right-wing populism, especially with regard to pluralist atti-
tudes. SP voters are more willing to listen to the opinions of others, even
though they are as averse to compromise as PVV voters. This is theoretically
consistent with recent findings that right-wing populism is more exclusionist,
while left-wing populism is more inclusive, which would explain the SP’s
greater willingness to listen to others (e.g., Filc, 2010; Lucardie & Voerman,
2012; Mudde & Rovira Kaltwasser, 2013).
A particularly interesting finding concerns the complex relationship
between elitism and populism. Although the PCA shows that there is a clear
distinction between the populism and the elitism dimensions, there is sub-
stantial positive correlation between the two scales. Supporters of the PVV
and SP scored high on the Populism scale, but they also scored high on the
Elitism scale. Further analysis demonstrated that both PVV and SP voters
supported the idea of independent experts and, to some extent, also exhibited
a high degree of Manichaeism (particularly in the case of the SP). Supporters
of the SP are also more skeptical of successful business people as decision
Figure 7. Mean scores on item “Our country would be governed better if important
decisions were left up to successful business people” by party preference.
Reference line is the total mean.
1346 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
makers. While the former is related to the fact that populism is based on a
Manichean division and that several populists, including the late Pim Fortuyn
in the Netherlands, have propagated a larger role for independent experts in
politics, the latter is explained by the differences between left-wing and right-
wing populism.
In closing, we suggest that future research should expand on this study in
a variety of ways. First, having demonstrated that it is possible to measure
populism in individuals, it will be interesting to see whether populist attitudes
correlate with other attitudes. For example, are the differences between left-
wing and right-wing populism also reflected in attitudes toward issues such
as crime, immigration, the economy, and European integration?18 From the
literature on populism, we would expect right-wing populism to be more
exclusionary and identity-focused, while left-wing populism should focus
more on the economy and be more inclusive (Mudde & Rovira Kaltwasser,
2013). Second, who are the populists? What are their personal characteristics,
socioeconomic status or personal traits? Third, can populism (as measured in
Figure 8. Mean scores on item “Our country would be governed better if important
decisions were left up to independent experts” by party preference.
Reference line is the total mean.
Akkerman et al. 1347
this paper) be a significant explanatory (i.e., independent) variable in politi-
cal analyses? For example, can the distribution of populist attitudes help
explain the success and failure of populist parties? And, fourth and final, it
will be interesting to measure populism in other regional contexts. For exam-
ple, do populist attitudes correlate as well with successful populist parties in
other countries (e.g., Austria, Denmark, or France)? Do we find similar popu-
list sentiments in countries where there are no populist parties? And does this
Populism scale travel to non-European regions like North and South America,
which have been prone to populist politics for a longtime?
Author’s Note
The online appendices are available at http://cps.sagepub.com/supplemental.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive
comments. In addition, we would like to thank Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser for his
comments and suggestions.
Figure 9. Mean scores on item “Politics is ultimately a struggle between good and evil”
by party preference.
Reference line is the total mean.
1348 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article: We acknowledge the financial support
of the Department of political Science, Radboud University for the survey on which
this research is based.
Notes
1. The connection between populism and unmediated representation is elective, not
definitional, as many scholars on populism in Latin America state (e.g., Roberts,
1995; Weyland, 2001). While this type of representation is indeed typical for
populist leaders in Latin America, which often are political outsiders without a
larger organizational structure supporting them, Western Europe is mostly home
to populist political parties, which are organizationally fairly similar to other
(non-populist) new political parties. In addition, North America has seen vari-
ous leaderless populist movements, from the original Populist movement to the
contemporary Tea Party (see Mudde & Rovira Kaltwasser, in press).
2. For example, it used questions such as “The government in Washington should
stay out of the question of whether white and colored children go to the same
school” and “The U.S. should keep soldiers overseas where they can help coun-
tries that are against Communism” (Axelrod, 1967, pp. 52-53).
3. The four questions are as follows: (1) The opinion of the average man or
women in the street is more worthy than the opinion of experts or politicians;
(2) Politicians should listen more to the problems of the people; (3) Ministers
should sit less in their offices and spend more time with the average people; and
(4) Those who have studied for a long time have lots of diplomas, but they do not
know how the world really works.
4. Hawkins, Riding, and Mudde (2012) use several questions that have been used
in the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), directed by Mitchell
Seligson at Vanderbilt University. They further adapted questions from Hibbing
and Theiss-Morse’s (2002) study on “stealth democracy.” Although the latter did
not measure populism per se, Hawkins et al. (2012) found that two of their ques-
tions tap into populism, while two others seem to form another dimension, that
of Elitism.
5. We would like to thank and acknowledge Kirk Hawkins and Scott Riding for
allowing us to use their populist questions for our survey. Questions POP1,
POP2, POP6, POP8, PLU1, PLU2, and PLU3 were adapted from Hawkins et al.
(2012). POP5, POP7, and E2, E3 where originally used by Hibbing and Theiss-
Morse (2002) to measure “stealth democracy.” Based on the analysis and sugges-
tions by Hawkins et al. (2012), we have adapted these questions to our survey.
Questions POP3, POP4, and E1 are newly created for this specific survey.
Akkerman et al. 1349
6. Tak en fr om t he we bs it e of th e Ce nt ra l Ag en cy f or Sta ti st ic s ( CB S) : ht tp :/ /w ww. cb s. nl /
NR/rdonlyres/0D30D23B-FE40-4570-B41A-E9B2CADF01DB/0/200944x10pub.pdf
7. We repeated the analyses with the unweighted data set, which produced similar
results.
8. See Note 5 for the origins of the questions. Dutch versions are provided in the
online appendix Table A3. The third question (“diversity limits my freedom”) is
a pluralism question. However, the question is framed in reverse, that is, high
scores on this scale represent low support for pluralist attitudes, to better capture
the original intention of the question (in Dutch).
9. Given our particular focus on populism, and constraints to the length of the sur-
vey, we focus on these core characteristics of our conceptualization of elitism.
10. Varimax rotation produces a similar attribution of the items to dimensions.
11. Further analysis demonstrates that the PLU3 question taps into different attitudes
from the other two pluralism questions. When correlated to parties, the Party for
Freedom (PVV) (and to a lesser degree the Socialist Party [SP]), scored high
on this item. Further analysis with questions regarding national identity demon-
strated that in all likelihood diversity was interpreted as a question about national
identity and national belonging.
12. Fortuyn made a clear distinction between the people and the traditional political
parties and his electoral success was due to his ability to mobilize voters who
were frustrated with the established political parties (Pellikaan, De Lange, & Van
der Meer, 2007).
13. In October 2011, Verdonk retired from Dutch politics. In June 2012, Proud of
the Netherlands (TON) fused with the Independent Citizen’s Party (OBP), of
disgruntled former PVV MP Hero Brinkman, to form the Democratic Political
Turning Point (DPK).
14. Lucardie and Voerman (2012) write that the SP was populist under Marijnissen,
especially in the late 1990s, arguing that there was not only a clear distinction
between the people and the elite, but that this distinction was based on a clear
Manichean “us against them” opposition. At the same time, the SP has gone
through periods when it was less populist. Under Agnes Kant’s leadership (2008-
2010), it is arguable that the party was less populist, while her successor, the
current party leader Emile Roemer, has been more populist.
15. Parties and answer categories with a frequency lower than 20 are omitted from
this picture; they were used to calculate the total mean. Online appendix Table
A2 reports on all the scale scores of all parties (and other answer categories).
16. On this Elitism scale, the CDA and the Labor Party (PvdA) seem to hold a cutoff
position between the PVV and SP and the other parties. The mean scores of CDA
and PvdA voters do not differ significantly from the other parties, while the mean
scores of the PVV and the SP do: the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy
(VVD; t-value = 2.3, p < .05) and D66 (t-value = 2.3, p < .05).
17. Scatter plots linking populist and elitist attitudes for the two populist parties show that
SP and PVV attract voters who score high on the populist scale as well as the elitist
attitude and voters who score high on just one of the attitudes. Due to space constrain,
we have not included the figure in the article. Available from authors on request.
1350 Comparative Political Studies 47(9)
18. Hawkins et al. (2012) found that populists were also more skeptical of immi-
gration. However, since they were not able to link the populist attitudes with
specific populist parties they were not able to distinguish between left and right
populists.
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Author Biographies
Agnes Akkerman is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology, VU
University Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Her research interest include the conse-
quences of industrial and political conflict, in particular the contagion of industrial
conflict and its impact on work relations, public sector networks, and the perfor-
mances of public organizations. Her publications appear in journals in sociology,
industrial relations, social psychology, public administration, and political science.
Cas Mudde is an assistant professor in the Department of International Affairs at the
University of Georgia. He is the author of Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe
(Cambridge University Press, 2007), which won the 2008 Stein Rokkan Prize, and
co-editor of Populism in Europe and the Americas: Corrective or Threat for
Democracy? (Cambridge University Press, 2012).
Andrej Zaslove is an assistant professor of comparative politics in the Department of
Political Science, the Faculty of Management Sciences, Radboud University,
Nijmegen, the Netherlands. His research and teaching focuses on European politics,
political parties, populism, and immigration. He is the author of The Re-invention of
the European Radical Right: Populism, Regionalism, and the Italian Lega Nord
(McGill-Queen’s University Press).
