Populism and Discontent: A Spatial Analysis of the 2023 Czech Presidential Election
Populism and Discontent: A Spatial Analysis of the 2023 Czech Presidential Election

Summary/Abstract: While populism has kept the attention of scholars for years, only a handfulof elections have presented as clear-cut a distinction between populism andanti-populism as the face-off between Andrej Babiš and Petr Pavel in the 2023Czech presidential elections. To investigate the factors behind the electoralsupport for the populist candidate Babiš, we first discuss populist and antipopulist approaches and connect them to the emerging literature on the geographyof discontent. Then, we analyse census data at the municipality level usingtwo regression models: the ordinary least squares and spatial error methods.The spatial error regression variant is helpful when analysing aggregate data asit evaluates the spatial clustering of residuals. Overall, we conclude that Babišwas most successful in regions marked by socioeconomic deprivation andsocial capital deficiencies. Consequently, based on the overarching theoretical framework and empirical findings, we suggest several implications that couldhelp mitigate political discontent in the future.

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