Replication Data for: Xs We Share, or: Context Similarity, Culture, and the Diffusion of Populism

Do populist ideas travel across borders? Anecdotal evidence suggests as much, yet so far we lack a systematic assessment of whether diffusion takes place, and if so, under which conditions. We argue that context similarity enables the diffusion of populism among parties as it eases the adaption of populist framing of perceived grievances into the local context. Using a dyadic approach, we analyze diffusion effects among 923 parties in 67 countries from 1970 to 2018. We find that similar levels of political and economic exclusion foster learning from and emulating other parties abroad. We also uncover conditional effects for learning from other parties facing similar levels of income inequality or public sector corruption that hinge on a cultural prescreening though. Combined, our results have important implications for a better understanding of diffusion processes in general and the spread of populist ideas around the globe in particular.

民粹主义思潮是否会跨境传播？传闻证据似乎支持这一论断，但迄今为止学界尚未开展系统性评估，既未证实传播是否真实发生，也未明确其发生的具体条件。本文提出，语境相似性可推动政党间的民粹主义传播——因其能够简化将民粹主义对感知到的不满的叙事框架适配至本土语境的过程。本研究采用二元分析法，对1970年至2018年间67个国家的923个政党的传播效应展开分析。研究发现，政治与经济排斥程度的相似性，会推动政党对海外同类政党的学习与效仿。此外我们还发现，当以相似的收入不平等或公共部门腐败水平为参照进行学习时，存在受文化预筛选机制调节的条件性效应。综上，本研究结果对于全面理解跨国传播进程，尤其是全球范围内民粹主义思潮的扩散机制，具有重要的理论启示意义。