Governing the Subject of Populism

This article examines the phenomenon of populism by drawing on the analytical resources of the governmentality perspective. The starting point is a discussion of the reasons for the relative absence of populism in the agenda of Governmentality Studies. In the following, the article turns to rationalities and technologies of governing that might be associated with populism and focuses on two of the latter, namely referendums and “contracts with the people.” The final section seeks to delimit the subject of the populist project, namely an aggrieved fearful one, which regains control and security through populist measures. The article concludes, among other things, that neither the technologies nor the constructions of the subject discussed can be considered exclusive to a populist logic, which suggests that populism is characterized by its ability to draw on and combine governmental elements from various frameworks in more or less fluid assemblages.