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Final_Dissertation_Substantive Political Representation and Public Support for Populism3.07 MB
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Dissertation
Substantive political representation and public support for populism
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Summer 2025
DOI: 10.25820/etd.008087
Abstract
This dissertation investigates how the lack of substantive representation by existing political parties affects public support for populism. While prior studies have often attributed populism’s rise to economic hardship, cultural backlash, or general political discontent, I argue that a fundamental driver of populist support across contexts is that mainstream political elites have failed to represent the public’s interests and address their concerns. Although the idea that inadequate political representation fuels populism has long been recognized in the literature on public support for populism, empirical efforts to test this claim have largely been limited or inconclusive.
This study offers both empirical testing and theoretical refinement. Empirically, the dissertation examines the effect of representation gaps on public support for populism across diverse contexts, including Europe, Latin America, and the Philippines. Theoretically, it distinguishes between individual-, group-, and national-level perceptions of representation and theorizes how individuals’ support for democracy—and their distinct understandings of what democracy means—shape how representation gaps influence populist voting. It also explores whether public support for populism depends not only on existing political institutions failing to provide strong representation, but also on the perceived representational performance and outsider status of populist actors.
The findings show that individuals who perceive their personal interests to be poorly represented by non-populist parties are more likely to support populist parties. This effect is amplified among strong democrats—those who value democracy highly—although specific democratic beliefs, such as support for guardianship democracy or liberal democratic norms, moderate the effect inconsistently across regions, arguably reflecting variation in how populist elites frame democracy. Furthermore, when populist parties provide more representation for the public or when non-populist parties dominate the legislature, the impact of representation gaps by non-populist parties on public support for populism becomes more pronounced. This suggests that individuals are more likely to support populist parties when they are seen as credible outsiders who can “fix” an unrepresentative democratic system dominated by corrupt political elites.
Together, these findings suggest that public support for populism across diverse contexts—Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia—reflects individuals’ responses to perceived failures in substantive representation by existing political institutions and a desire for populist parties to better represent their interests, challenging the common portrayal of populist support as merely reactive, emotional, or anti-democratic. By systematically analyzing how representation failures shape support for populism across diverse political environments, this dissertation contributes to a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the sources of public support for populism.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Substantive political representation and public support for populism
- Creators
- Jeongho Choi
- Contributors
- William M. Reisinger (Advisor)Frederick Solt (Committee Member)Elise Pizzi (Committee Member)Bryce J. Dietrich (Committee Member)Matthew M. Singer (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Political Science
- Date degree season
- Summer 2025
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.008087
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- x, 213 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2025 Jeongho Choi
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 05/10/2025
- Description illustrations
- illustrations, tables, graphs
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 154-184).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
Why do people support populist elites who claim to represent the people against corrupt political institutions? While earlier studies have focused on economic hardship, cultural conflict, or general political dissatisfaction, I show that a deeper cause lies in how well or poorly existing political institutions represent what people actually want. By examining public support for populism in diverse contexts including Europe, Latin America, and the Philippines this study finds that when people perceive existing political parties fail to represent their interests, they are more likely to support populist parties and leaders. This tendency is especially strong among those who value democracy, as they take failures of political representation more seriously. However, different understandings of democracy shape this relationship in distinct ways across regions, arguably reflecting how populist actors frame democracy differently in different contexts. The analysis also shows that populist parties gain more support when they provide stronger representation or when non-populist parties dominate the legislature conditions that enhance the credibility of populist parties as actors who can fix what is seen as a broken democratic system. Public support for populism across diverse contexts thus reflects individuals responses to perceived failures in substantive representation by existing political institutions and a desire for populist actors to represent them better. By studying how these patterns unfold across regions, this research offers a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of what drives support for populism today.
- Academic Unit
- Political Science
- Record Identifier
- 9984948341602771
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