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Chryssogelos, Angelos (2025) Populism and international relations theories. In: Routledge Handbook on Populism and Foreign Policy. Routledge, London, pp. 83-103. ISBN 9781032540184 (In Press)
International relations (IR) theories form an important background and foundation to any analysis of foreign policy making. This chapter discusses how populism relates to the major theoretical traditions of IR (realist, liberal, constructivist, critical) and the implications for the study of foreign policy. It is argued that the global rise of populism challenges these traditions on multiple levels. It undermines many of their ontological assumptions, it poses an ideological challenge to many of their underlying normative inclinations, and politicizes their insights as populist leaders are particularly apt to appropriate different elements of IR theories in the shape of ‘folk theories’ to legitimize their foreign policy choices. However, the chapter also shows that all IR theories still have the tools to accommodate the practices and ideas of populism in their analysis of international politics, provided some adjustments are made. The chapter discusses how this matters for the study of foreign policy.
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