Paul Taggart on the dangers of populism

Talking to Wawrzyniec Smoczynski, British political scientist Paul Taggart describes the impact populists have on a country's political system. "Populists destroy democracy by suppressing debate. Representative democracy is based on pluralism, but when a populist walks on to the political stage, he polarises opinion. The remaining parties start to define themselves in terms of the populist, and pluralism disappears. A lack of diversity of opinion doesn't make for good politics. On the other hand, populism is short-lived, so its impact is naturally limited."

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