Nadia Urbinati on the Resurgence of Populism, its History, and its Various Forms

Since populism became widespread in parts of Latin America, was it mistakenly seen as foreign to Euro-American liberal democracy, and has it in recent decades become more widespread than parliamentary democracy or liberal constitutionalism? Is the potential for populism inherent in democracy itself, especially when conceived in terms of a dialectic between the majority and the minority? Is it always accompanied by a suspicion against the elites? Should progressive political forces resort to populist tactics and rhetoric in order to win back the masses from the far-right demagogues? Or does this inevitably pose a risk to democratic ideals of pluralism and universalism? Could this then pave the way to an exclusionary, antagonistic, imaginary system, which would play into the hands of ethno-nationalist forces? Is populism still compatible with democracy by continually testing its limits? And what distinguishes populist politics from post-fascist rule?