Science-related populism: Conceptualizing populist demands toward science

TLDR

Populism is rising worldwide, characterized by an anti‑elitist narrative that frames society as a struggle between a virtuous people and a corrupt elite, a framing that extends beyond politicians to scientists and scholarly institutions, yet science‑related populism has not yet been conceptualized. The study aims to conceptualize science‑related populism by integrating insights from political populism, the participatory turn, and alternative epistemologies. The authors propose that science‑related populism is a set of ideas positing a morally charged antagonism between an allegedly virtuous ordinary people and an allegedly unvirtuous academic elite, driven by the elite’s illegitimate claims and the people’s legitimate demands for science‑related decision‑making sovereignty and truth‑speaking sovereignty.

Abstract

Populism is on the rise in many countries. Scholars have stated that it is characteristic for political populism to describe society as a fundamental struggle between an allegedly virtuous people and political elites which are portrayed negatively. This anti-elitist sentiment not only targets politicians, however, but also other representatives of the alleged establishment-including scientists and scholarly institutions. But the specifics of such science-related populism have not yet been conceptualized. We aim to do so, integrating scholarship on political populism, the "participatory turn," and alternative epistemologies. We propose to conceptualize science-related populism as a set of ideas which suggests that there is a morally charged antagonism between an (allegedly) virtuous ordinary people and an (allegedly) unvirtuous academic elite, and that this antagonism is due to the elite illegitimately claiming and the people legitimately demanding both science-related decision-making sovereignty and truth-speaking sovereignty.