Why nativism, not populism, should be declared word of the year | Cas Mudde
by Cas Mudde from on (#3A1RK)
The Cambridge Dictionary has got its definition and its application wrong. It conflates the term with the nativism of the radical right
Last week the Cambridge Dictionary declared populism its 2017 word of the year. In many ways, that makes perfect sense. Since Brexit and Trump, virtually every political event has been couched in terms of populism, from the Dutch parliamentary elections to the French presidential elections earlier this year. New media catchwords such as "fake news" are linked to populism.
However, it has become the buzzword of the year mostly because it is very often poorly defined and wrongly used. Indeed, the Cambridge Dictionary's definition perfectly illustrates this. It describes populism as "political ideas and activities that are intended to get the support of ordinary people by giving them what they want".
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