Populist foreign politics: the substitution of politics for interests

Abstract

How can we characterise the foreign policy of populist leaders? This paper argues for the introduction of the concept of ‘populist foreign politics’. Populist foreign politics is when politics trumps policy. In other words, we define the concept as the substitution of political criteria for interest-based considerations in the selection, retention and promotion of foreign policy allies, in countries led by populist leaderships. Based on four case studies from two countries led by populist leaders, the paper shows that populist foreign politics takes the form of supporting fellow populists even if they harm officially stated interests – and punishing non-populist actors because they are politically not in the camp of populists, even if interests align. Overall, the paper makes the claim that, under certain conditions, populist foreign politics, based on belief similarity is indeed a noticeable trait in the foreign policy of populists and that populism (and not their far right ideology) has a direct impact on the substantive foreign policy preferences of populist leaders.