Globalization, populism, and climate skepticism: untangling varieties and pathways

Drawing upon cross-national data collected by the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) across 26 nations and over 28,000 individuals, this study explores the association between climate skepticism and populism, both in general, and amidst varying degrees of neoliberal globalization. Distinguishing between populism’s ideological varieties and pathways of influence, we find that right-wing and valence forms of populism are linked to greater skepticism, and left-wing populism to lower skepticism. Crucially, the impact of populism occurs both at the country level and at the individual level, indicating support for theories anticipating both top-down and bottom-up mechanisms of populist influence. We also find that the link between populism and climate skepticism depends on the level of globalization – albeit in diverse and sometimes unexpected ways, reflecting the pathway and ideology in question. These insights advance ongoing debates arguing that populism is neither inherently exclusionary or right-wing, and its diverse forms warrant further exploration. Future research can expand data collection on populism’s ideological variations and investigate how populist dynamics intersect with globalization, particularly its neoliberal variant, to shape climate attitudes.