Anthropology and populism

Abstract

This guest editorial probes the inflationary use of ‘populism’ and the contribution that anthropologists can make to this field. Although a highly variable phenomenon historically, contemporary populists in locations as diverse as rural Hungary and urban Wales have much in common in their disaffection with the politics of liberal democracy. While the deeper causes must be sought in political economy, emotion and identity are just as important as material interest in populist movements. In describing and explaining populism, anthropologists should heed the populist traditions of their discipline – even at the risk of political incorrectness.