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Populist Wave or Metamorphosis of a Chameleon? Populist Attitudes and the Vote in 2016 in the United States and Ireland

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  • Stephen Quinlan

    (GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Mannheim, Germany)

  • Deirdre Tinney

    (University of Limerick)

Abstract

In the era of Brexit and President Trump, it is clear that we need to talk about populism. Populist political campaigns feature ever more widely, suggesting the phenomenon of a ‘populist wave’. But do populist sentiments shape vote choice? Using data from Ireland and the United States, incorporating CSES Module 5 questions that focused on populist sentiments and vote choice in 2016, we show that populist sentiments did motivate voters in both countries. We also demonstrate, however, that the old reliables – economic perceptions, partisanship, and left-right ideology – mattered more. Thus, an exclusive focus on populism for the success of Donald Trump in the US or Sinn Féin/AAA in Ireland is unwarranted. Further, populist sentiments motivating vote choice differed between the two countries, raising fresh questions about whether populism can be regarded as an ideology and whether even the “chameleon” metaphor overclaims coherence for the term.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Quinlan & Deirdre Tinney, 2019. "Populist Wave or Metamorphosis of a Chameleon? Populist Attitudes and the Vote in 2016 in the United States and Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 50(2), pages 281-324.
    • Handle: RePEc:eso:journl:v:50:y:2019:i:2:p:281-324
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. David Madden, 2020. "The Base of Party Political Support in Ireland: An Update," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 51(1), pages 93-103.
    2. Michele Roccato & Nicoletta Cavazza & Pasquale Colloca & Silvia Russo, 2020. "Three Roads to Populism? An Italian Field Study on the 2019 European Election," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1222-1235, July.
    3. David (David Patrick) Madden, 2019. "The Base of Party Political Support in Ireland: An Update," Working Papers 201915, School of Economics, University College Dublin.

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