Willy Brandt School of Public Policy
Erfurt
Deutschland
Over the past few decades, populism made its ‘comeback,’ taking mainstream parties by surprise and shaking the political institutions of both young and long-established democracies alike. From Donald Trump’s presidency and Jair Bolsonaro’s polarizing (single) term to the Brexit referendum, Yellow Vest movements, and radical right parties in Europe, populist leaders, parties, and movements have gained significant momentum worldwide in a way that does not make sense anymore to limit populism to “third-world countries.” Populism can no longer be ignored. Populists are redefining political narratives, challenging incumbents and well-established parties, and reshaping social and political dynamics. Even though they are not winning the elections everywhere, they force the establishment to adapt. Despite the evident success populism has been getting in recent years, some think that the Covid-19 pandemic was the beginning of its end. After all, scholars theorized, populism would not be able to sustain itself in the face of a global pandemic, and populists would be forced to adapt, give in, and move on. That is not what it looks like. The recent electoral victories of leaders such as Erdogan, Lula, and many others in both Latin America and Europe, have proven that the ‘populism moment’ is not over. Against such background, the main objective of this course is to provide students with the conceptual, theoretical, and empirical foundations to understand the phenomenon of contemporary populism. Looking into the various definitions, varieties, measurements, as well as causes and consequences of populism, the course explores (I) what populism stands for in today’s political context (mainly in the political science), (II) how it differs from its earlier manifestations, (III) how it relates to democracy and civil society, (IV) which strategic responses are available to mitigate its impacts, (V) why it is often associated with conspiracy theories and fake news, (VI) how the Covid-19 pandemic affected it, and (VI) what the current manifestations of populism look like across the world.
