The Localist Turn in Populism Studies

While the study of populism has typically focused on the national level, recent years have seen a growing body of research on populism’s local dimensions. Despite making important scholarly advances, this ‘localist turn’ has yet to develop a systematic account of how populism intersects with localism. In this research note, we broach this gap. By exploring how right‐ and left‐wing populisms conceptualize the ‘local’, as well as how localist sentiments can heighten or diminish the appeal of right and left populist politics, we establish a general framework to guide future inquiry into local manifestations of populist politics.