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Populism and foreign policy: characteristics, sources, and implications

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Chryssogelos, Angelos (2024) Populism and foreign policy: characteristics, sources, and implications. In: The Ideational Approach to Populism: Consequences and Mitigation. Routledge studies in extremism and democracy, 2 . Routledge, London, pp. 185-199. ISBN 9781003489993

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Abstract

International Relations (IR) and Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) literature is increasingly preoccupied with the effect of populism on international politics. This chapter offers an overview of key debates in this literature, with an emphasis on how the ideational approach to populism is being used by IR and FPA scholars, the insights it generates but also the challenges it poses. The chapter identifies two such challenges: the necessity to disentangle the international effect of populism from that of the ‘thick’ ideologies populists carry; and the recognition that the content of populist foreign policies may differ widely among populists from different regional and historical contexts. On this basis, the chapter argues that the impact of populist ideas (anti-elitism and anti-pluralism) on international politics must be sought instead in the distinct foreign policy styles and postures they inform, as well as the increasing personalization of foreign policy conduct by populist leaders – the ‘how’ rather than the ‘what’ of foreign policy. The chapter concludes by arguing that one of the most commonly identified feature of populist ideology in foreign policy – the quest for sovereignty – is indeed important, but its intensity depends on the geopolitical position of states and their populist leaders, especially if they are located in the West or the Global South.

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