Ernesto Laclau, Latin American Populism, and Progressive Intellectuals: A Brief Note on an Uncomfortable Topic

This essay offers a critical assessment of contemporary theories sympathetic to Latin American populism, focusing on the work of Heinz Dieterich, Hans-Jürgen Burchardt, and Ernesto Laclau. It argues that such approaches tend to overstate the democratic potential of populist regimes while downplaying...

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Autor principal: Mansilla, Hugo Celso Felipe
Formato: Artículo revista
Lenguaje:Español
Publicado: EDUCC - Editorial de la Universidad Católica de Córdoba 2025
Materias:
populism
intellectuals
authoritarianism
postmoodernism
Populismo
intelectuales
Autoritarismo
postmodernismo
Acceso en línea:https://revistas.bibdigital.uccor.edu.ar/index.php/SP/article/view/5919
Aporte de:
Studia Politicae de Universidad Católica de Córdoba
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spelling I38-R402-article-59192025-06-06T15:11:35Z Ernesto Laclau, Latin American Populism, and Progressive Intellectuals: A Brief Note on an Uncomfortable Topic Ernesto Laclau, el populismo latinoamericano y los intelectuales progresistasUna breve nota sobre un tema incómodo Mansilla, Hugo Celso Felipe populism intellectuals authoritarianism postmoodernism Populismo intelectuales Autoritarismo postmodernismo This essay offers a critical assessment of contemporary theories sympathetic to Latin American populism, focusing on the work of Heinz Dieterich, Hans-Jürgen Burchardt, and Ernesto Laclau. It argues that such approaches tend to overstate the democratic potential of populist regimes while downplaying their authoritarian, intolerant, and anti-liberal dimensions. By conflating political intention with social reality, these interpretations overlook the practical effects of populist governance on institutions, individual rights, and rational public deliberation. The text highlights the role of postmodernism and revisionist Marxism in legitimizing plebiscitary forms of democracy at the expense of liberal pluralism. Furthermore, the essay examines the intellectual motivations behind these perspectives and the continued fascination of Global North academia with populist experiments in the Global South. This fascination is fueled by utopian impulses, nostalgic idealism, and simplistic political reasoning that blur the line between democracy and authoritarianism. As a result, it is argued that intellectuals have abandoned their critical role, favoring a seductive stance that hinders a rigorous evaluation of populism’s political and ethical consequences in Latin America. Este ensayo examina críticamente las teorías contemporáneas favorables al populismo latinoamericano, especialmente las de Heinz Dieterich, Hans-Jürgen Burchardt y Ernesto Laclau. Sostiene que tales enfoques tienden a sobrevalorar la dimensión democrática del populismo, obviando su carácter autoritario, intolerante y antiliberal. Al confundir proyecto con realidad, estos estudios minimizan los efectos concretos de la praxis populista sobre las instituciones, los derechos individuales y la deliberación racional. El texto también advierte sobre la influencia del postmodernismo y del marxismo revisionista, que justifican una democracia plebiscitaria en detrimento de los mecanismos pluralistas y representativos. Asimismo, el ensayo reflexiona sobre las motivaciones intelectuales que sostienen estas interpretaciones y sobre la fascinación de ciertos sectores académicos del Norte Global con los regímenes populistas del Sur. Esta fascinación se ancla en impulsos utópicos, simplificadores y nostálgicos que terminan desdibujando las fronteras entre democracia y autoritarismo. En consecuencia, se señala que el rol crítico de los intelectuales ha sido reemplazado por un rol seductor y acrítico, lo cual impide una evaluación adecuada del impacto político y ético del populismo en América Latina. EDUCC - Editorial de la Universidad Católica de Córdoba 2025-04-07 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Ensayo no evaluado por pares application/pdf application/zip application/epub+zip https://revistas.bibdigital.uccor.edu.ar/index.php/SP/article/view/5919 10.22529/ Studia Politicæ; Núm. 63 (2024): Invierno 2024 2408-4182 1669-7405 10.22529/sp.2024.63 spa https://revistas.bibdigital.uccor.edu.ar/index.php/SP/article/view/5919/8254 https://revistas.bibdigital.uccor.edu.ar/index.php/SP/article/view/5919/8255 https://revistas.bibdigital.uccor.edu.ar/index.php/SP/article/view/5919/8256 Derechos de autor 2025 H.C.F. Mansilla https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
institution Universidad Católica de Córdoba
institution_str I-38
repository_str R-402
container_title_str Studia Politicae
language Español
format Artículo revista
topic populism
intellectuals
authoritarianism
postmoodernism
Populismo
intelectuales
Autoritarismo
postmodernismo
spellingShingle populism
intellectuals
authoritarianism
postmoodernism
Populismo
intelectuales
Autoritarismo
postmodernismo
Mansilla, Hugo Celso Felipe
Ernesto Laclau, Latin American Populism, and Progressive Intellectuals: A Brief Note on an Uncomfortable Topic
topic_facet populism
intellectuals
authoritarianism
postmoodernism
Populismo
intelectuales
Autoritarismo
postmodernismo
author Mansilla, Hugo Celso Felipe
author_facet Mansilla, Hugo Celso Felipe
author_sort Mansilla, Hugo Celso Felipe
title Ernesto Laclau, Latin American Populism, and Progressive Intellectuals: A Brief Note on an Uncomfortable Topic
title_short Ernesto Laclau, Latin American Populism, and Progressive Intellectuals: A Brief Note on an Uncomfortable Topic
title_full Ernesto Laclau, Latin American Populism, and Progressive Intellectuals: A Brief Note on an Uncomfortable Topic
title_fullStr Ernesto Laclau, Latin American Populism, and Progressive Intellectuals: A Brief Note on an Uncomfortable Topic
title_full_unstemmed Ernesto Laclau, Latin American Populism, and Progressive Intellectuals: A Brief Note on an Uncomfortable Topic
title_sort ernesto laclau, latin american populism, and progressive intellectuals: a brief note on an uncomfortable topic
description This essay offers a critical assessment of contemporary theories sympathetic to Latin American populism, focusing on the work of Heinz Dieterich, Hans-Jürgen Burchardt, and Ernesto Laclau. It argues that such approaches tend to overstate the democratic potential of populist regimes while downplaying their authoritarian, intolerant, and anti-liberal dimensions. By conflating political intention with social reality, these interpretations overlook the practical effects of populist governance on institutions, individual rights, and rational public deliberation. The text highlights the role of postmodernism and revisionist Marxism in legitimizing plebiscitary forms of democracy at the expense of liberal pluralism. Furthermore, the essay examines the intellectual motivations behind these perspectives and the continued fascination of Global North academia with populist experiments in the Global South. This fascination is fueled by utopian impulses, nostalgic idealism, and simplistic political reasoning that blur the line between democracy and authoritarianism. As a result, it is argued that intellectuals have abandoned their critical role, favoring a seductive stance that hinders a rigorous evaluation of populism’s political and ethical consequences in Latin America.
publisher EDUCC - Editorial de la Universidad Católica de Córdoba
publishDate 2025
url https://revistas.bibdigital.uccor.edu.ar/index.php/SP/article/view/5919
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first_indexed 2025-10-23T14:43:29Z
last_indexed 2025-10-23T14:43:29Z
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