Viktor Orbán and his party Fidesz exemplify cultural populism. After the 2015 refugee crisis, Orbán engaged in ethnonationalist policies targeting immigrants, including building fencing along the country’s southern border, criminalizing illegal entry, forcing asylum seekers into detention camps, and forbidding civil society organizations from helping undocumented immigrants.

Example of Cultural Populism in Practice (Hungary)

Contemporary cultural populists who have recently overseen periods of democratic backsliding in their countries include Bolsonaro (Brazil), Orbán (Hungary), Modi (India), Duterte (The Philippines), the Law and Justice party (Poland), Erdoğan (Turkey), and Trump (United States).

Wesleyan University

Cultural populism identifies the “true people” as native members of a nation or some sort of racial or ethnic majority within a country. They cast outsiders—migrants, ethnic and religious minorities, etc.—as enemies of the “true people” who threaten their cultural values and security. Cultural populism often has racist and ethno-nationalist undertones.

Cultural populism

Kyle, J. & Meyer, B. (2020, February 7). High Tide? Populism in Power, 1990-2020. Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. https://institute.global/policy/high-tide-populism-power-1990-2020

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