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The Effects of Fighting Populism on the Populist Dynamic

Vincenzo Galasso
CESifo, Munich, 2024

EconPol Forum 25 (2), 32-35
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  • Populism is on the rise globally and poses an existential threat to mainstream political parties
  • Traditional parties may try to debunk the populist rhetoric or fight back using populist tactics
  • A field experiment during the 2020 referendum in Italy shows that fighting back may be effective
  • Political ads blaming populist politicians demobilized their electoral base at low economic cost
  • Fighting populists backfires in the medium term as new populists benefit from the increased abstention

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