“It’s Us against Them”: Populist Rule and Electoral Violence

Abstract In recent times, populist leaders and parties have seen tremendous electoral success globally. However, a considerable number of these elections have been highly contentious with some even leading to violence. Yet, we know relatively little about the relationship between populist leadership and electoral violence. Drawing on theories of jointly produced violence, social identity, as well as populism and polarization, this article addresses this gap in the literature. Using data from over 100 countries between 1990 to 2018, empirical results from OLS estimations indicate that populist leadership is positively associated with government-sponsored electoral violence. The result is robust to several alternative model specifications and different measurements. In addition, the analysis shows that populist-induced electoral violence is not conditioned by a leader’s traditional ideological leaning. These findings have important implications for elections, especially in the context of the global rise of populism.