The Populist Leader: A Profile That Emerged from the Investigation Perspective of Phenomenological Psychopathology

Background: Numerous studies in political psychology have tried to provide a clear demarcation between the profiles of leaders belonging to traditional parties and those belonging to populist parties. Currently, however, the question linked to recognizing the phenomenologically relevant characteristics of the populist leader still appears unsolved. Objective: The present study aims at bringing out the essential peculiarities of populist leaders, using the method of investigation proposed by phenomenological psychopathology. Methods: The research was oriented to apply an epochè aimed at revealing the characteristics of the populist leader from a first-person perspective. The study focused on how the intentionality of consciousness of the populist leader is expressed and on how to explore the way of being-in-the-world of the populist leader through the exploration of existentials, that is, the essential structures that constitute the condition of every experience. Results: By applying the method proposed by phenomenological psychopathology, the results showed that it is possible to bring out a profile of the populist leader. In this regard, the populist leader seems to live in a “manic” temporal dimension, in which there is no space for slow maturation because everything seems to have been lived quickly, hoping a soon reaching new Enlightenment. The space is lived so that the distance between the world of politics and that of the ordinary citizen is reduced. The populist leader seems to outline a scenario in which even the most difficult projects, which would foresee a macro-social change, are within reach. The lived body by the populist leader is characterized by being “on edge”: a dysphoric mood prevails, and the emotional picture is predominantly characterized by feelings of anger and aggression. Finally, alterity is split by the populist leader mainly into two subgroups: one in which the profile of the ordinary citizen is idealized and the other in which all those who should be part of an élite far from safeguarding the interests of the people are denigrated. Conclusions: The present study has highlighted that the method of investigation proposed by phenomenological psychopathology can clarify the fundamental characteristics concerning the style of the populist leader.