On Populists and Demagogues

The article seeks to understand what is specifically modern about populists, why we have difficulty in agreeing on who and what they are, and—importantly—how we can address the formidable challenge they present to contemporary democratic politics. It does so by detailing the classical conception of the demagogue and by showing how modernity, in its liberal and counter-liberal aspects, sought to solve conclusively the problem of the demagogue. It argues that modern populists face significant obstacles to their ambitions in the form of modern constitutionalism, yet are also armed with new weapons, including new concepts or “ideologies” for manipulation (such as “the people,” nation, race and class) and new rhetorical techniques (such as propaganda that exploits modern technology and mass media). L'article cherche a comprendre ce qui est specifiquement moderne chez les populistes, pourquoi nous avons du mal a nous accorder sur qui et ce qu'ils sont, et surtout comment nous pouvons relever le formidable defi qu'ils representent pour la politique democratique contemporaine. Il le fait en detaillant la conception classique du demagogue et comment la modernite dans ses aspects liberaux et antiliberaux a cherche a resoudre de maniere concluante le probleme du demagogue. Il soutient que les populistes modernes font face a des obstacles importants a leurs ambitions sous la forme d'un constitutionnalisme moderne, mais qu'ils disposent egalement de nouvelles armes, y compris de nouveaux concepts ou « ideologies » de manipulation (invoquant "le peuple", la nation, la race, la classe sociale) et de nouveaux artifices rhetoriques comme la propagande qui exploite la technologie moderne et les medias de masse.