While much of the literature on populism has focused on the role of the populist leader in creating political polarization, this work asks what role context, particularly anti-populism, plays in exacerbating the often vitriolic nature of populist rhetoric. This work explores this question by examining the speeches of Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, from 1998 to 2012. It argues that Chavez’s populist rhetoric, initially conciliatory, developed its radical, polarizing features over time in response to the interplay between contextual circumstances (particularly opposition actions and rhetoric) and social welfare goals. The Venezuelan case offers insight into how anti-populism can contribute to populism’s polarizing process and challenges more commonly accepted notions of the primacy of the populist leader in bringing about political polarization. While critiques of populism have often focused on the threat to political rights posed by populism, this analysis suggests that anti-populism’s neglect of social rights and disparagement of popular identity claims may play a role in exacerbating the deep divide between populists and anti-populists.

中文翻译：

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民粹主义言论和政治两极分化：来自委内瑞拉的见解


虽然许多关于民粹主义的文献都集中在民粹主义领导人在造成政治两极分化中的作用，但这项工作询问了环境，特别是反民粹主义，在加剧民粹主义言论经常尖刻的性质方面发挥了什么作用。这项工作通过研究委内瑞拉总统雨果·查韦斯 （Hugo Chavez） 在 1998 年至 2012 年的演讲来探讨这个问题。它认为，查韦斯的民粹主义修辞最初是和解性的，随着时间的推移，随着环境（特别是反对派行动和修辞）和社会福利目标之间的相互作用，发展了其激进的两极分化特征。委内瑞拉的案例让我们深入了解了反民粹主义如何助长民粹主义的两极分化进程，并挑战了更普遍接受的民粹主义领导人在导致政治两极分化方面处于首要地位的观念。虽然对民粹主义的批评通常集中在民粹主义对政治权利构成的威胁上，但这项分析表明，反民粹主义对社会权利的忽视和对大众身份主张的贬低可能在加剧民粹主义者和反民粹主义者之间的深刻分歧方面发挥作用。