Understanding Populism

Abstract

The last few years witnessed a worrying rise in populist and often demagogue political parties and movements. There are many different causes for the rise of populism, but a common feature is fundamental change in the mental representations of some voters about the political domain how people think about politics. Explaining the causes and consequences of this mental re-orientation is an important task for applied social psychology. This chapter discusses the concept of collective narcissism, emphasizing positive group identity and advocating an illusory sense of national greatness as a potential explanation for the rise of anti-liberalism in a number of countries. These processes will be illustrated through the recent history of Hungary, which has emerged as a prime exponent of illiberalism in Europe. The paper will discuss some of pre-requisites for collective narcissism, such as historical adversity, and the absence of psychological values that emphasize individualism, independence and trust. Empirical survey data and linguistic analyses will be presented, illustrating psychological mechanisms that promote collective narcissism. Populism and Collective Narcissism ‐ 3