Populism And Democracy

Résumé: long as politics In 2017, the Cambridge Dictionary announced the word 'populism' as "Word of the Year". In the political stage, populism is by no means a new concept. It has existed as did. Notwithstanding, an attempt to make a general definition of the term is often problematic. In practice and in theory, repeatedly, populist arguments stress the idea that liberalism detached democracy from its essence that rests on making the people rule to realize their general will. A direct target for populist criticism is political elites, immigrants, multilateral institutions. The election of Donald Trump in 2016 marked the backlash of populism into the American political table. Perhaps, for the casual observer, it might seem that Trump vision of politics is one that aims at increasing political participation by giving voices to previously silenced sections of the society. However, in assuming this task, the new incumbent of the white house showed no reluctance in violating foundational principles that governed political actions of the country. By way of illustration, he initiated executive orders that directly discriminated religious and ethnic minorities. Moreover, Donald Trump aggressively attacked legalistic institutions like media and bureaucracy. Furthermore, he was able to circumvent major democratic pillars as important as constitutional checks and balances. Initially, this research aimed to identify how populism is related to democracy and how it is realized in the American political arena during the presidency of Donald Trump. Based on a descriptive and interpretative analysis, it can be concluded that Donald Trump had a limited negative effect on U.S. democracy. Rhetorically, he was able to undermine many democratic norms. However, practically, Donald Trump could not unlock the strength of democratic institutions of the United States.

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