Re-Constructing “Populism” as a Signifier of the Changing Meanings of the Political World: The Italian Case

This paper investigates the concept of “populist attitudes” resulting from the emotional symbolization of the political world. While contemporary scholars link populism to individual attitudes or socio-economic shifts, we argue that understanding populism’s underlying dynamics offers a more nuanced perspective. Addressing these emotional symbolizations sheds light on how populist attitudes and structural conditions become salient and lead to a global rise. Using data from a nationally representative Italian survey, we studied the interaction between populist attitudes and three concepts often associated with populism, which we ascribed to the domain of the emotional symbolizations of the political world: alienation, powerlessness, and protest voting. Alienation reflects passive estrangement from politics, while powerlessness fuels citizens’ potential resentment, leading to protest voting as a reaction. By emphasizing the relationship between citizens and politics, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the socio-cultural and psychological drivers of populist attitudes, disentangling the concept of “populism” from the risk of reified stances. We underscore that approaching this phenomenon within its broader dynamic can provide an innovative perspective. We call for further contextual approaches to enhance theoretical insights and inform practical strategies to address populism’s disruptive effects.