Management Summary Research Study „Legislative Populism, Ideological Alignment, and Human Freedom”
This study examines how populist representation in national legislatures relates to human freedom, measured by the Human Freedom Index. Unlike most prior research, which focuses on populist leaders in the executive, the study analyzes populism as a legislative phenomenon. Using panel data from 76 democratic countries over the period 2000–2020 and factor analysis of the twelve components of the index, the authors identify five empirically grounded dimensions of human freedom: rule of law and regulation, civil liberties, policy freedom, security, and government size. It turns out that populist representation is most strongly associated with weaker institutional outcomes when populist parties are ideologically aligned with a same-side legislative majority. Right-wing populism is associated with weaker rule of law, civil liberties, and security in more right-leaning legislatures; left-wing populism with weaker security and smaller government in more left-leaning legislatures. The findings suggest incremental institutional drift rather than abrupt breakdown, but cumulative effects under sustained populist representation may be substantial. The results underscore the importance of independent courts, parliamentary oversight mechanisms, and constitutional safeguards that constrain the scope for erosion of freedoms even under ideologically aligned majorities.
Target groups of stakeholders: Policymakers, constitutional lawyers, political scientists, economists working on political economy and institutional quality, journalists covering populism and the state of democracy.
Citation: Bjørnskov, C., & Berggren, N. (2026). Legislative populism, ideological alignment, and human freedom. European Journal of Political Economy, 93, 102846.