The Many Guises of Populism and Crisis: Introduction to the Special Issue on Populism and Global Crises

Populism is a powerful social force that has reshaped the political landscapes of many nations since the turn  of the 21st century. Much of the success of populist movements is attributed to various social crises and a deep  dissatisfaction with political systems. In the present issue, we sought to find papers that investigate what drives  the demand for populist politics during crises on a psychological level and, correspondingly, how populist  rhetoric influences the way individuals think about, and respond, to crises. In this editorial, we introduce a  multidisciplinary issue and summarize the key themes stemming from the articles included. The contributions  addressed various forms of crises; from identity issues to global transformations, and various aspects of  populism; from the antiestablishment attitudes of the public, to the populist rhetoric of political actors. There  was also a key theme centered on the role of emotions. We believe that these topics are of great interest to political  psychologists of any mold. We hope that this special issue can play a part in increasing our understanding of  how populism thrives during crises and in driving future research on this topic.