Putin: populist, anti-populist, or pseudo-populist?
Journal: Journal of Political Ideologies
Year: 2023

Vladimir Putin’s populism is much contested. There are three research questions. The first is empirical: is Putin a populist, and on what grounds? The second is methodological: can comparative measuring techniques help analyse the presence of populism? The third is theoretical: what (if anything) does the case of this ‘populist icon’ tell us about the populist phenomenon? Four domains of Putin’s politics are analysed: Russia’s support for international populists, Putin’s leadership style, and hi