Abstract

Populism has been sometimes considered as a threat to liberal and representative democracy. However, it is also possible to question whether it can strengthen citizen participation. In this contribution we will explore the link between populism and political participation. After having defined the concepts of populism and political participation, we will deal with their mutual relationship. Through a review of the existing studies on this subject, we will try to isolate the most interesting research perspectives. Empirical research on the topic shows that populism can indeed strengthen citizens’ participation, because it contains a participatory germ, but this outcome depends on the context and on the type of participation.