The distinguished historian of theworld economy, Professor Barry Eichengreen comes in fact very close to this definition, having written in his recent book The Populist Temptation as follows: “[populism] involves the reaction of voters against the political establishment, nationalist and racialist sentiment directed against foreigners and minorities, and a yearning for forceful, charismatic leadership”.
In line with Eichengreen and Soini, populism typically focuses on a handful of ideas with anti-elite, authoritarian, and usually nationalist tendencies in appealing to their base of supporters. Both rightly point out that populist movements have been part and parcel of the democratic political landscape for a long time, from the United States to Finland. 3.