Accessibly and engagingly written, this book uses the conceptual toolkit of economics to show that populists are rational actors in search of the cheapest and fastest route to high office. As a strategy based on direct mass communication with voters, populism thrives when it is more cost-effective than its alternatives.
Populism is a political strategy through which charismatic leaders establish links with unattached mass constituencies. Identifying all cases of populism in Southeast Asia's democracies, this Element shows that populist mobilization thrives because parties are so weak. This weakness is caused by institutional and political economic factors.