2021/08/23 by Vasileios Adamidis · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Populism, Right-Wing Movements #Political Systems and Governance #Judicial and Constitutional Studies #Populism #Democracy #Popular sovereignty #Rule of law #Ambiguity #Sovereignty #Ideology #Law #Ideal (ethics) #Political science #Law and economics #Sociology #Philosophy #Politics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/02633957211041444
openalex publication_date 2021/08/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Popular sovereignty plays a central role in both the democratic and the populist ideology. While democracy’s version of qualified sovereignty is accepted as mutually constitutive with the rule of law, populism’s version of absolute sovereignty is seen as incompatible with this ideal. The article reconsiders this oversimplifying approach. By examining the interaction of these concepts with a nuanced account of the rule of law, it argues for the compatibility of both democracy and populism with different versions of this ideal. While this remains a key distinguishing factor between democracy and populism, the ambiguity of the rule of law still allows populism to claim that it complies with a thin version of this concept.