%0 Journal Article
%T The Foreign Policy Rhetoric of Populism: Ch¨¢vez, Oil, and Anti
%A Cameron G. Thies
%A I£¿aki Sagarzazu
%J Political Research Quarterly
%@ 1938-274X
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1065912918784212
%X Populists are often identified based on their behavior, but the discursive element of their identities is also a frequently observed characteristic of this type of leader. We examine the determinants of populist foreign policy rhetoric in the case of Venezuela¡¯s Hugo Ch¨¢vez. We argue that a leftist populist leader such as Ch¨¢vez will focus on anti-imperialist themes, and we consider two mechanisms that may indicate the conditions under which he will use them: diversion, which would typically be expected from a populist, and capacity. We use time-series analysis of rhetorical data scraped from the entire corpus of Al¨® Presidente¡ªCh¨¢vez¡¯s weekly television series¡ªto test our hypotheses. The evidence supports the capacity mechanism, that Ch¨¢vez is emboldened to use anti-imperialist rhetoric when the price of oil is high. His rhetoric, thus, matches his resources and ability to provide domestic and international goods to support his own identity as a protector and savior of the common people from domestic and global elites engaged in the imperialistic enterprise
%K populism
%K foreign policy
%K rhetoric
%K Ch¨¢vez
%K oil
%K anti-imperialism
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1065912918784212