sadopopulism

English

Etymology

From sado- +‎ populism, coined by historian Timothy Snyder, then influenced by earlier terms and concepts like "political sadism".

Noun

sadopopulism

1. A political strategy or occurrence in which a leader appeals to people by harming them but making them believe that people they hate are at fault and/or are being harmed worse.
   • 2019 November 5, Fintan O'Toole, The Politics of Pain: Postwar England and the Rise of Nationalism, Liveright Publishing, →ISBN:

     […] 'sadopopulism', in which people are willing to inflict pain on themselves so long as they can believe that, in the same moment, they are making their enemies hurt more:  […]'