Political Decline

In general, populism draws on concepts under political science rather than concept of anthropology or sociology. Similar to other political concepts the term conveys political notion; however, populism is also approached as cultural concept and has been analyzed a method of gaining and sustaining power. Initially political definition of populism leads to a technique for political action by political actors using propaganda and popular publicity to win ignorant voters and ways to reducing complex social problems to trivial matters suggesting simple solutions. Although such political actors seldom find any success to solve people’s problems but by triggering hope manage to generate short term social dynamism that can be used or abused. Most wellknown examples are Prounism in Argentina, Boulangism in France where they have persisted to reject parliamentary system which is aiming to devolve power through election and representation. In contrary, populism favours unrepresentative direct democracy that can not be realized in the real world, and has always ended up in dictatorship.

For anthropology, more important than such a political approach, the issue is not merely consequences of populism behaviour (resulting more often in destroying democracy and paving the way for tyranny), rather analyzing the causes and roots, processes and cultural outcomes. Initially what can be underlined as populism is the language of demonizing politics and political actors and ultimately, altering political process with self inducement. Such characteristic is manifested in popular culture that is highly charged with glorifying will power, and proliferating infinite power framework that finds its origins in every society’s intrinsic folklore.

Therefore any unpopular view of political actors who distance themselves from folklore prepare grounds for a dialogue in popular culture. Major characteristic of populism is rejecting intellectualism under the same justification of anti parliamentarism and renounce any bureaucracy or political action, necessary or otherwise for managing the affairs of the country. Pragmatic studies of the phenomenon show that such populism has emerged both in high and low cultured societies and in various contexts. This misfortunate political rhetoric can taint any society. Therefore it is suggested that believes and myths of every society should be searched for finding roots and causes of populism phenomena. It has been more likely related to cultural imitation, social obligations and the necessity for collectivism against individualism in many societies.

What history is teaching us is that populist expectation generally leads to broad cultural ruin even wars, tensions, and dreadful genocides. Although these actions have been analyzed, named and shamed but could not be necessarily avoided, and has repeated constantly. Finally it should be noted that populism like other degenerative phenomenon that works to reduce objective thinking – has become more dangerous than before for the complexity of today’s world and have grave impacts on cultural aspects of any society that comes to deal with this phenomenon.

www.politics.ox.ac.uk