Social psychological scholarship on populism explains polarization processes in terms of individual differences and group‐level divisions. However, predominant approaches often elide wider historical contexts, implicitly assuming the structural features of Western settings. Invoking insights from postcolonial psychology, we posit that populist polarization dynamics in the Global South are structurally shaped by colonial histories. Turning to the Philippines under populist President Rodrigo Duterte, we examine polarized online constructions of his controversial war on drugs. Employing a discourse‐historical approach, we uncover a structurally bifurcated view of populist polarization. We specifically unpack sociolinguistic rifts across vernacular discourses of community security uttered in Filipino versus cosmopolitan discourses of democratic integrity uttered in English. Our findings expand prevailing scholarship by illustrating postcolonial discursive possibilities of populism from above and resistance from below. We conclude with insights for studying populist polarization at the nexus of local and global inequalities.

中文翻译：

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后殖民菲律宾的民粹主义两极分化：在线毒品战争话语中的社会语言裂痕

关于民粹主义的社会心理学学者从个人差异和群体层次划分的角度解释了两极分化过程。但是，占主导地位的方法往往会忽略更广泛的历史背景，隐含地假定了西方环境的结构特征。借鉴后殖民心理学的见解，我们认为，全球南方的民粹主义两极分化动力在结构上受殖民历史的影响。在民粹主义总统罗德里戈·杜特尔特（Rodrigo Duterte）的领导下，我们转向菲律宾，考察了他关于毒品的有争议战争的两极分化的在线建构。我们采用话语-历史的方法，揭示了民粹主义两极化的结构分歧的观点。跨我们特别解压社会语言学的裂痕社区安全的白话话语在菲律宾发出与用英语讲的国际化的民主完整话语。我们的发现通过说明从上而下的民粹主义和从下而来的反抗后殖民话语权的可能性，扩大了流行的学术范围。我们以研究局部和全球不平等联系的民粹主义两极分化的见解结束。