Abstract

No term has been able to capture the spirit of the present like the word «populism». The fears and hopes of an innumerable number of people have crystallized and have found a way to express themselves through this convoluted category. But what is, precisely, a «populism»? In order to answer this question we will deploy two strategies: on one hand, we will try to construct a conceptual map, capable of accounting for the various theoretical positions which compose contemporary populism; on the other, we will interrogate directly one of the most acute observers of contemporary politics: Judith Butler. Mapping the complexity of this concept and analyzing it with one of the people who has been dissecting contemporary politics with the utmost attention we will try to deconstruct power and its staunchest critics.