ABSTRACT
The author reviews different meanings and definitions of populism to systemize the concept and arrive at a clear definition. The elusive nature of populism might be phenomena that are associated with it are extremely diverse. The question relates to the problem of circularity, meaning that often post-factor criteria are used to define phenomena for which we actually need a priori criteria to select the phenomena to be defined. In other words, if we consider the American People Party as the ultimate manifestation of populism we will end up with a different definition of populism than when we use Hugo Chavez as an example. Populist manifestations share some characteristics such as an appeal to the people and anti-elitism, there is still an ongoing discussion on the precise meaning of populism. Some would argue that the opposition between 'the people' and 'the elite' expresses itself always through the mobilization by a charismatic leader; others claim that populism is a specific communication style.
