Neither a Trait nor Wildly Fluctuating: On the Stability of Populist Attitudes and its Implications for Empirical Research

Abstract

The literature on populist attitudes frequently makes one of two assumptions: populist attitudes are either stable or unstable. However, few studies have examined these diverging assumptions empirically. We use panel data collected over six panel waves between 2017 and 2021 in Germany to assess the stability of populist attitudes. Integrating inter-individual stability (variable-centred) and intra-individual stability (individual trajectories), we find that populist attitudes are neither fully stable (trait) nor fully flexible (state). For example, some respondents constantly changed their view on populism while the attitudes in one out of three individuals remained stable. We also explore empirical consequences and find that populist attitudes are more closely linked to vote choice when they are stable. Accordingly, we argue for a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of populist attitudes, both at the variable and individual levels, where these attitudes are stable and consequential for only a subset of individuals.

Storm in a Teacup: Populist Attitudes and Voting for Populists in Croatia

“…Buduća bi istraživanja trebala krenuti u tom smjeru, kao i u smjeru drugačijeg uokvirivanja čestica kojima se mjeri antielitizam. Naposljetku, s obzirom na to da recentne studije pokazuju kako su populistički stavovi snažnije povezani s glasovanjem za populiste kada su takvi stavovi dugotrajno stabilniji (Schimpf, Wuttke i Schoen, 2023), buduća bi se istraživanja trebala temeljiti na panel podacima koji bi omogućili testiranje longitudinalne dinamike i učinaka populističkih stavova.…”

Populist Attitudes among Teenagers: How Negative Relationships with Socialization Agents Are Linked to Populist Attitudes

“…Other scholars showed however, that there may be variations in populist attitudes as response to external stimuli (Rhodes-Purdy, Navarre, and Utych 2021; Rico, Guinjoan, and Anduiza 2020). Most recent evidence highlights though, that both may be true for different parts of the population (Schimpf, Wuttke, and Schoen 2023).…”