13 July 2018
Concepts of Populism and Radicalism
The slogan ‘Populism is on the Rise’ can be heard everywhere. From editorials in European and American Newspapers to the Academy; on both sides of the Atlantic the term populism is ubiquitous. But what is populism? Many authors add an adjective like nationalist populism, authoritarian populism, right-wing or left-wing populism. In this course we focus on how different authors have conceptualized populism either as an ideology, or as a political style. We study where the term populism historically originated from and whether its historical roots still play a role today. Then we compare the populism concept to competing concepts such as right-wing radicalism and right-wing extremism. We also pay attention to the role and function of concepts in social science research. In the last part of the seminar we study the relationship between populism and democracy and ask whether populism is a good or a bad thing for affluent liberal democracies.
Course leader
M. Zobel
Target group
This course is part of the summer program "The Liberal Order in Crisis: Authoritarian, Radical, and Populist Challenges to Democracy in Europe"
Fee info
EUR 1970: including two courses, accommodation, lunch on weekdays, transaction costs, transportation within Frankfurt (Oder), extracurricular activities and taxes
EUR 400: The second fee is the tuition fee for students from non-partner universities of the European University Viadrina. Please contact your international office and the organizing team to check for possible tuition waivers.