In this episode of our podcast series produced in collaboration with the Journal of Democracy, we discuss with Pepper Culpepper the article When Populism Can be Good, jointly written by Pepper Culpepper and Taeku Lee. This discussion reframes populism as a differentiated and politically consequential phenomenon rather than a uniformly anti-democratic force.
It distinguishes between populism rooted in political failure, which often turns exclusionary and anti-institutional, and populism grounded in economic unfairness, which can mobilize more inclusive, redistributive demands.
Pepper’s argument suggests that while populism can act as a corrective, it also reveals the system’s failure to address structural inequalities and sustain its emancipatory promise. The conversation also touches on the inability of mainstream parties to channel economic grievances, underscoring limits in political imagination and institutional incentives. The central challenge, as Pepper elaborates, is whether these populist energies can be rechanneled into durable democratic reforms, rather than hardening into destabilizing, anti-system anger.
This interview was conducted by Anubha Anushree. Alina Young edited the audio file.
