Populism and liberal democracy : a comparative and theoretical analysis Populism and Liberal Democracy is the first book to offer a comprehensive theory about populism during both its emergence and consolidation phases in three geographical regions: Europe Latin America and the United States. Based on the detailed comparison of all significant cases of populist governments (including Argentina Greece Peru Italy Venezuela Ecuador Hungary and the U.S.) and two cases of populist failure (Spain and Brazil) each of the books seven chapters addresses a specific question: What is populism How to distinguish populists from non populists What causes populism How and where does populism thrive How do populists govern Who is the populist voter How does populism endanger democracy If rising populism is a threat to liberal democratic politics as this book clearly shows it is only by answering the questions it posits that populism may be resisted successfully.