In the past two years, populism was the word on the tip of everyone’s tongue, described as our most pressing concern and worry, right alongside terrorism. But what is populism exactly, and what dangers does it entail for democracy?
To these and more related questions Jan-Werner Müller, a leading expert on the topic, tries to provide an answer in his presentation.
Offering a rich analysis of the nature of populism and its dynamics, Müller focuses on how populists gain access to power. Once – and if – this happens, their destabilising attitude has negative impacts on public debate, democracy, the plurality of political systems and, in the long term, basic human rights and freedoms. As to how populist discourse can be effectively defused, Müller argues that there is no straightforward solution, but citizens do have an important role to play in reaching out to those who have different opinions and fostering constructive debate.
Professor Müller is Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He is a leading expert on democracy and author of many books, including Contesting Democracy (2011), and, recently published, ‘What Is Populism?’ (2016). He is a regular contributor to the Financial Times, the Guardian, Foreign Affairs, Prospect magazine and the London Review of Books.
Debate video recording
