Populist ideology, ideological attitudes, and anti-immigration attitudes as an integrated system of beliefs

Abstract

A challenge for the identification of the core components of a beliefs system is the topological examination of these components within the overall structure of the said system. By modeling beliefs as nodes of interconnected networks, this research investigated the centrality of adherence to populist ideology and classical ideological attitudes in relation to voting behavior and negative feelings toward immigrants. Data from a sample of 774 Italian adults were examined by means of three Network Analysis models. Results showed four constitutive dimensions of populist ideology: People Sovereignty, Anti-elitism, People Homogeneity, and Manichaeism. The dimensions of Anti-elitism, People Sovereignty and Homogeneity were found to be the core. Analyses also highlighted the centrality of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) within the broader beliefs system, including voting, populist ideology dimensions, and anti-immigration. RWA was positively related to the core of populist ideology, whilst SDO was negatively associated with or unrelated to it. However, both RWA and SDO exceeded populist dimensions when associated with populist right-wing voting, representing the unique intermediate links in connecting it with anti-immigration. Five Star Movement voting emerged as a purer form of populist support, relating directly only to populist dimensions and placing itself at a greater distance from ideological attitudes and anti-immigration.

Ideological predictors of anti-science attitudes: exploring the impact of group-based dominance and populism in North America and Western Europe

“…Populism, defined by the ideational approach, comprises three core components: opposition to elites, people's sovereignty, and a Manichean worldview (Mudde, 2004(Mudde, , 2017Hawkins and Kaltwasser, 2018). In contrast to group-based dominance ideologies, including SDO, which emphasize preserving social hierarchies, populist ideology leans toward "flattening hierarchies" (Pellegrini, 2023). Unlike SDO, which categorizes society into inferior and superior groups (Pratto et al, 1994), populist ideology views all "ordinary people" as a homogeneous entity, with the elite seen as the adversary (e.g., Hawkins and Kaltwasser, 2018).…”

Ideology and Attitudes toward Jews in U.S. Public Opinion: A Reconsideration

“…A large body of research has found anti-immigrant sentiment is associated with being on the political right (Chandler and Tsai 2001;Lahav and Courtemanche 2012;Pellegrini 2023).…”