Populism and the Challenge to Western Democracy UCL

Overview

The Populism and the Challenge to Western Democracy course from UCL Summer School will explore how populist movements have reshaped politics in the United States, Europe and beyond. The course will analyse the success of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement in the United States, Brexit in the UK, and the rise of authoritarian parties in Hungary and Poland as well as the spread of populist leaders across Latin America and Asia.

The course will examine competing explanations of populism, evaluating claims that populism speaks for ‘the people’ alongside concerns that it may undermine democratic institutions.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students will have:

• Understand the significance of populism and to be able to evaluate its importance relating to current debates on democracy.

• Be familiar with particular cases of populism in the United States, Europe and Latin America, and be able to contrast and evaluate these.

• Be prepared to engage with debates concerning populism, nationalism and democracy by examining competing perspectives and formulating their own viewpoints.

• Have experience designing relevant research projects and presentations.

• Have developed the ability to think critically about the nature and limitations of different forms of evidence, and be able to use this ability to form convincing arguments.