ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines our definitions for political meritocracy and populism. We first consider the history of political meritocracy and its theoretical foundations, comparing its key tenets against electoral democracy. Examining the work of Daniel A. Bell, we also outline the core differences between political meritocracy and an ostensibly similar system – technocracy. Furthermore, we outline our argument for conceptualizing populism not as a political ideology or a political strategy, but instead as a distinct political style. We argue that it is the latter which is the most suitable for analyses of populism in China and Singapore, as it is able to assess populism on a gradational scale and thus consider the presence of populism in its incipient movement forms, as well as its role in intra-party conflict in otherwise ‘non-populist’ parties like the CCP and PAP.
