From Popular Sovereignty to Procedural Cynicism: How Populist Rhetoric Erodes Trust in Democratic Institutions

Klajdi Logu

Abstract: The contemporary rise of populist leadership has been widely associated with increasing political polarization and declining trust in democratic institutions. However, existing scholarship has largely treated trust erosion as a secondary consequence of affective polarization or ideological radicalization. This article advances a different argument: populist rhetoric erodes democratic trust primarily by redefining democratic procedures and institutions as illegitimate obstacles to popular sovereignty rather than as its normative foundations. The article introduces the concept of procedural cynicism to capture this shift in citizens? understanding of democracy, whereby courts, media, elections, and checks and balances are no longer perceived as safeguards of democratic rule, but as instruments of elite domination. Drawing on a mixed-methods research design, the study combines qualitative content analysis of populist leaders? speeches, semi-structured interviews, and quantitative survey analysis. The qualitative component examines recurring rhetorical strategies in the discourse of prominent populist leaders, focusing on moral dichotomization, anti-elitist framing, and the systematic delegitimization of institutional mediation. This is complemented by semi-structured interviews conducted with participants in Albania and comparative contexts, which provide insight into how populist narratives are interpreted at the individual level and how they reshape citizens? normative expectations of democratic governance. Finally, survey data from a large-scale U.S. sample are used to assess the relationship between exposure to populist rhetoric and levels of trust in democratic institutions, controlling for key socio-demographic variables. The findings demonstrate that populist rhetoric does more than intensify political antagonism. It actively transforms the meaning of democracy itself by promoting a vision of unmediated popular will that renders procedural constraints suspect or illegitimate. Interview evidence reveals that individuals influenced by populist discourse often express distrust toward democratic institutions while simultaneously affirming their commitment to ?true democracy,? indicating a normative redefinition rather than outright democratic rejection. The quantitative results support these patterns, showing a statistically significant association between exposure to populist rhetoric and reduced institutional trust, particularly among less educated and socioeconomically vulnerable groups. By conceptualizing trust erosion as a process of procedural cynicism, this article contributes to debates on populism, democratic legitimacy, and political communication. It highlights how populist rhetoric undermines democracy not only by polarizing societies, but by hollowing out the procedural foundations upon which democratic trust ultimately depends.

Keywords: Populist rhetoric, Democratic institutions, Institutional trust, Political discourse, Procedural cynicism

How to Cite?: Klajdi Logu, "From Popular Sovereignty to Procedural Cynicism: How Populist Rhetoric Erodes Trust in Democratic Institutions", Volume 15 Issue 2, February 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1253-1259, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26218180822, DOI: https://dx.dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26218180822

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