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Populism and Political Knowledge: The United States in Comparative Perspective
[journal article]
Abstract This article addresses the link between political knowledge and populist attitudes in the United States (US) in comparative perspective. At the beginning of the new decade, populism in the US is associated with support for the Republican party and Donald Trump in particular, and that is how I addres... view more
This article addresses the link between political knowledge and populist attitudes in the United States (US) in comparative perspective. At the beginning of the new decade, populism in the US is associated with support for the Republican party and Donald Trump in particular, and that is how I address it here. Using secondary data from a number of related studies, we find that, overall, support for Trump is not only negatively related to political knowledge, but also to other factors that make his supporters unaware of their being misinformed. This is because, more than for others, partisan cues serve them as a basis for their factual beliefs about political actors and events and assessments of the beliefs of others. While political knowledge has long been comparatively low in the US, as I show in the early part of the article, the relationship between misinformation and populism (i.e., support for Trump) is seen as a new and especially worrisome element. In the concluding section I address what, if anything, could be done to address this situation.... view less
Keywords
United States of America; political education; populism; disinformation; political interest
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
Donald Trump; United States; political knowledge; political misinformation; populism; tribalism
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 226-238
Journal
Politics and Governance, 8 (2020) 1
Issue topic
Leadership, Populism and Power
ISSN
2183-2463
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed