ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates the operationalization of populism and its measurement through a process of semi-automated content analysis. Moreover, it explains and justifies several key elements of this study such as the case selection, the period examined, and the criteria for the selection of party manifestos. The percentage of populist statements in party manifestos is then combined with two additional elements in order to determine the degree of populism’s Salonfähigkeit: the degree of radicalism and the electoral results of the parties. Finally, the chapter explains why fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) is the most appropriate method for this study. Indeed, fsQCA identifies necessary and sufficient conditions for the presence of populism’s social acceptability and makes it possible to assess to what extent the levels of stigma of the fascist past contribute to forming a better explanation for the phenomenon.
