Uses, disuses, abuses. Crossroads of Populism and its understanding from a political theory perspective

Abstract

This article seeks to discuss some conceptual approaches on Populism in contemporary works of both political and social sciences, especially from Latin America, in order to inquire, specifically, on the pejorative and apologetic uses of the term, as well as critical and simplistic disquisitions about it. Therefore, this paper expects to open the debate about the potentialities and limitations inherent in the understanding of populism, avoiding the rejection of its analytical relevance. The epistemological starting point of this article is to highlight the importance and validity of the research on populism’s specificity.