The Popular, the Populist, and the Plebeian: Mamdani as a Problem for Populism Studies
Spyros A. Sofos
This article develops a framework distinguishing plebeian rupture, populist closure, and plebeian-institutional articulation. It asks how popular agency can endure through institutions while those advancing demands retain the capacity to shape decisions and challenge their representatives. The analysis examines Zohran Mamdani’s New York mayoral campaign from October 2024 to November 2025 through campaign statements, speeches, endorsement records, and organizational materials. Independent demands, endorsement rules, and public disagreement show organized constituencies seeking a continuing role in the project. Their influence over contested priorities and effective constraints on leadership are less clearly documented. The findings support understanding the campaign’s organizational project as plebeian-institutional articulation, alongside a left-populist reading of its construction of a common identity. The framework shifts attention from the presence of organizations to the authority constituent actors retain as popular projects enter institutions.
Keywords: populism; plebeian politics; plebeian-institutional articulation; political mediation; social movements; Zohran Mamdani.
References
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The Popular, the Populist, and the Plebeian: Mamdani as a Problem for Populism Studies
Spyros A. Sofos
This article develops a framework distinguishing plebeian rupture, populist closure, and plebeian-institutional articulation. It asks how popular agency can endure through institutions while those advancing demands retain the capacity to shape decisions and challenge their representatives. The analysis examines Zohran Mamdani’s New York mayoral campaign from October 2024 to November 2025 through campaign statements, speeches, endorsement records, and organizational materials. Independent demands, endorsement rules, and public disagreement show organized constituencies seeking a continuing role in the project. Their influence over contested priorities and effective constraints on leadership are less clearly documented. The findings support understanding the campaign’s organizational project as plebeian-institutional articulation, alongside a left-populist reading of its construction of a common identity. The framework shifts attention from the presence of organizations to the authority constituent actors retain as popular projects enter institutions.
Keywords: populism; plebeian politics; plebeian-institutional articulation; political mediation; social movements; Zohran Mamdani.
References
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Freeden, M. (2003). Ideology: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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