Populist and Anti-Populist Discourses in Nigerian and Turkish Presidential Elections: Populist Zeitgeist Debate Revisited

Today, many scholars question whether populism has indeed become the zeitgeist detriment of democracies around the globe. This study compares populist discourses in Nigeria and Türkiye during their 2023 presidential campaigns. Utilizing Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), it explores how did the victorious presidential candidates employ digital media platforms to disseminate their populist and anti-populist messages? This research reveals that Bola Tinubu’s anti-populist discourses mitigated polarization and led to a smooth electoral success in Nigeria. In sharp contrast, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s populist discourses exacerbated political divisions in Türkiye. It concludes that populism neither universally dominates global trends nor guarantees electoral victory, even in polarized Eurasian-African context. Nonetheless, whether labeled as populist or anti-populist during electoral campaigns, such characterizations do not necessarily translate into corresponding policy actions once in office.