Jordan kyle

DATA

Populism in Power dataset

“Populism in Power” is dataset on populist parties and leaders that have attained executive office in at least minimally democratic countries between 1990 and 2020. This includes only those populists who reached the presidency or prime ministership (or the equivalent executive office) and not those who governed as minority partners in a coalition government. This paper provides a detailed explanation on how the database was created and how it can be used. The dataset aimed to accumulate existing knowledge on populism into a single global database to facilitate systematic and cross-regional studies on the causes and effects of populism in power.

When using the data, please note that, as described in the paper, countries coded as “populist” are those in which a leader is elected within a democratic setting (Polity IV>=6 in the year of election) running a populist campaign. Then, the country continues to be coded as “populist” until that leader leaves executive office, even if populist traits change over time. Thus, any analysis of the database should be thought of as “the effect of electing a populist leader.” Non-populist countries (coded as a “0”) are those in which a non-populist leader is elected within a democratic setting (PolityIV>=6). Note that the country stays non-missing in the database as long as the leader currently in power was elected within a democratic setting, even if they autocratize while in office. Countries don’t drop to missing until there is a leadership transition under non-democratic institutions. Missing data are those in which the leader currently in power gained office within a non-democratic setting. Even if a country democratizes, it stays missing until a leadership transition under democratic institutions.

Populism in power datasetDownload

Please cite the following papers when using this data: