Populism as political communication style: An empirical study of political parties' discourse in Belgium

Abstract The scientific debate about populism has been revitalised by the recent rise of extreme‐right parties in Western Europe. Within the broad discussion about populism and its relationship with extreme‐right, this article is confined to three topics: a conceptual, an epistemological and an empirical issue. First, taking a clear position in the ongoing definition struggle, populism is defined primarily as a specific political communication style. Populism is conceived of as a political style essentially displaying proximity of the people, while at the same time taking an anti‐establishment stance and stressing the (ideal) homogeneity of the people by excluding specific population segments. Second, it is…