Two New Articles on Populism and Democracy
Mikkel Flohr has recently published two articles that explore the relationship between populism and democracy. The first is a Danish-language essay for the daily Politiken, discussing the potential pitfalls of anti-populist sentiments. Flohr traces the historical origins of populism, presenting it as fundamentally tied to the attempt to represent the people's will – like democracy – and points out that contemporary anti-populism often ends up illustrating precisely the elitist contempt and mistrust of the broader population that populists claim to be fighting. The article can be found here.
The second article is published in European Journal of Sociology and examines the conceptual history of "the people" in Danish political discourse. It uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze extensive archival material and demonstrate how populist conceptions of "the people" played a crucial role in Denmark's constitutional development from 1830 to 1920, where it developed from an absolutist monarchy into a liberal democracy. His findings challenge the assumption that populism and democracy are inherently at odds, showing instead how populism helped shape modern Danish parliamentary democracy. The article can be found here.