ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to indicate some analytical prospects aimed at social research on populism. It aims to provide the reader with some very general guidelines on how to study a populist phenomenon, taking into account the social dimension and following a comparative and empirical approach. The process of creation of a community-people coincides at the social level with an extraordinary period of social mobilization and inclusion. In order to consider populism as a form of direct social expression of sovereignty, a reflection on the social contexts where it emerges is necessary. In particular, it is necessary to analyze the social mechanisms of mediation and representation of power relations within a political regime. One of the most interesting traits is the process of social disintermediation. A recent study by Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart has proposed an interesting interpreting key of contemporary neo-populisms in light of long-term socio-cultural transformations in western societies.
