Lecture | Leiden University Nationalism Network | Roundtable
Populism and nationalism: What’s the difference?
- Sarah de Lange, André Gerrits and Steven Denney
- Date
- Tuesday 14 April 2026
- Time
- Address
-
Lipsius
Cleveringaplaats 1
2311 BD Leiden - Room
- 1.48
Today, ‘populism’ seems everywhere. The notion is commonly used to identify the increasingly prolific individuals and movements that hold specifically radical ideas about nation, people and identity, and exploit them unabashedly.
Relatedly, there is has been an unprecedented surge in the academic study of populism. Scholars engage in an ongoing discussion on the different conceptualizations of populism and on how populism relates to other relevant phenomena, including democracy and, the topic of this discussion, nationalism.
Most researchers would agree that populism and nationalism are closely related, but what are the similarities and differences between populism and nationalism? Can right-wing, ethno-nationalist populism, the form which populism usually takes, still be meaningfully distinguished from nationalism? Or do the differences prevail? Populists and nationalists may both think in terms of an idealized ‘us’ versus a diabolized ‘them’, but do they not interpret them fundamentally differently, people vs. elite and nation vs. nation respectively? Populism is centred around the ‘people’ and starts from a moral antagonism between the virtuous people versus the corrupt elite, while nationalism is structured around the concept of the ‘nation’, and builds on the essential difference between the own nation (natives, insiders) versus the others (non-natives, outsiders). These are plain theoretical distinctions, but do they make a difference in practice?
Speakers
In this roundtable André Gerrits (History) will introduce the topic and discuss the ideal-typical differences and similarities between populism and nationalism. Sarah de Lange (Political Science) will focus on the nexus between populism and nationalism in Dutch politics. Steven Denney (Korean Studies) will present and discuss the same issue, but focus on East Asia.
How to Attend
Open to all staff and students — no need to register in advance.
The meeting can also be attended via Zoom:
Zoom link: https://universiteitleiden.zoom.us/j/64460067300?pwd=QGaDNzrCToXKW8bqKamkU23VUvvbyw.1#success
Meeting-ID: 644 6006 7300
Password: as7uuX+P
Instructions for participation: https://universiteitleiden.zoom.us/meetings/64460067300/invitations?signature=gdrKjuQZBJ4BgPwy67vtL63AbUpBegLbln3TV3rGYm0