Understanding the Emergence of Populist Parties: A Review of the Interconnected Factors Involving Individual Resilience, Educational Levels, and Party Support – A Case Study of Romania

Populism is seen as a significant phenomenon in politics nowadays. Populist parties are gaining the backing of citizens in various countries. What are the individual key factors that contribute to the rise of populism? This article aims to provide a comprehensive answer starting from three key factors such as individual resilience, educational level, and party support. Therefore, we conducted research among 241 participants (civil servants from public administration) who agree to respond to an online questionnaire. Data were gathered via the Google Form platform. The questionnaire was structured following main objectives, such as: identifying the individual resilience level, respondents’ level of trust, party affiliation and support, the perception of populism and populist promises perception, the importance of truth in politics, the voting intention and socio-demographic data. The research reveals that most of the respondents (93,4%) have a high individual resilience while 90% appreciated that in interpersonal relations the best attitude is to be cautious. Furthermore, even if the general belief is that populist promises expressed during electoral campaigns cannot be achieved, an average of 37,7% of the respondents indicated that populist parties could win the elections. As regards the honesty of political actors, 55,6% of the respondents indicated that political actors cannot be honest. For 65.1% of the respondents, political advisors are responsible for the lack of honesty and trust. The rise of populist parties is due to some aspects such as: lack of trust in the current political class, social economic context (poverty), and the level of education (lack of political culture). Additionally, this research highlights the role of educational levels in shaping populist party support. Individuals with lower levels of education tend to be more susceptible to populist messages due to limited access to critical thinking skills and political knowledge. Furthermore, individuals with higher levels of resilience tend to be more skeptical or critical regarding the truth of political parties or politicians. Likewise, individuals with higher levels of resilience tend to perceive populist promises as less achievable. This article contributes to the existing literature by providing a comprehensive understanding of the factors that could enlighten the increase of populist parties, often promoted as having a sovereigntist doctrine. By examining individual resilience, educational levels, and party affiliation, the study offers valuable insights into the dynamics of populism in this context.