No dia 22 de novembro, Marco Lisi (NOVA FCSH) será o orador convidado do Seminário de Estudos Pós-Graduados em Ciência Política sobre o tema Are Populist Candidates Undermining Democratic Representation? A Comparative Study. A partir das 14h30, na Sala 1 do ICS-ULisboa e online.

The rise of new populist parties has raised concerns for representative political systems and the quality of democracies, by challenging the liberal checks and balances in the name of the ‘general will’. Empirical research has found that populist voters tend to be more dissatisfied with democracy and supportive of direct procedures, while feelings of misrepresentation increase the display of populist attitudes. However, it remains unclear whether this also applies to candidates. This study investigates the differences in democratic attitudes of candidates from populist and non-populist parties, relying on data from the Comparative Candidates Survey. It explores the factors that account for diverging attitudes, particularly regarding party- and individual-level mechanisms. Results suggest that populist candidates tend to reveal lower levels of democratic satisfaction and more negative attitudes towards elections, as well as higher preferences for direct procedures. These findings have significant implications for both populist studies and the field of political representation.

Marco Lisi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Studies, Nova University of Lisbon and Researcher at IPRI-NOVA. His research interests focus on political parties, interest groups, electoral behaviour, democratic theory, political representation and election campaigns. He published several articles in national and international journals. He recently edited Party System Change, the European Crisis and the State of Democracy (Routledge, 2019).