Populism and liberal democracy

Abstract

The relationship between populism and democracy has always been debated among researchers, because there is a difference between populism and liberal democracy. On the other hand, it emphasizes the rights of minorities that contrast with populism, as populists see that nothing should constrain the will of the people, and therefore usually oppose elected bodies, judicial institutions, and rules that seek to strengthen the separation of powers, and accordingly populism exploits the tensions inherent in the liberal model that attempts to find a harmonious balance between popular will and constitutionalism, and thus, some view populism as a form of democratic extremism, in the sense that it portrays the people as the only entity with the right to formulate rights, duties, and procedural rules that regulate the exercise of power.