ABSTRACT
Political rallies have traditionally played a sizeable role in populist political campaigns. It is difficult to understand the true power and intentions of the populist rally, however, before first developing an appreciation of populism itself. Populism has been referred to as ‘a degraded form of democracy that promises to make good on democracy’s highest ideals’, offering little more than a fantasy or seductive metapolitical illusion. Political rallies, imbued with charisma, play a vital role in establishing the initially seductive promises and in demonizing the state, particularly because of the biological power of excitation-transfer in amplifying the potency of the message. The political rally is a valuable weapon in a politician’s arsenal in facilitating the upswing from voter indifference, to optimism, excitement and a kind of irrational exuberance, particularly when propaganda and wildly emotional rally-based activities are formally planned into the process. The ‘neuropsychological mechanism that may underlie effective emotional appeals’ of a charismatic politician can be addictive.
