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Professor Francisco Panizza

This course is available on the BSc in International Social and Public Policy with Politics, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, BSc in Politics, BSc in Politics and Economics, BSc in Politics and History, BSc in Politics and International Relations, BSc in Politics and Philosophy and BSc in Social Policy with Government. This course is not available as an outside option nor to General Course students.

This course is capped at two groups. 

The course studies populism from a conceptual and comparative perspective. Given the highly contested nature of populism, the first weeks will look in depth to different theories of populism, including ideational, strategic and performative understandings of populism. It will then move to explore the socio cultural and economic conditions of emergence of populism, the relation between populism and democracy and the relations between populism, political systems and popular movements. The last three lectures will seek to apply the conceptual tools presented in the first part of the course to regional and country case studies.

Among the topics to be explored are: what do we talk about when we talk about populism? Populism as a "thin ideology" and as a political strategy; populism as a mode of political identification; the cultural and socio-economic causes of populism; populism and democracy; populism and political systems; populism and grassroots movements; and varieties of populism across different regions of the world.

This course provides a combination of classes and lectures totalling 25 hours in the Lent term. This year, some or all of this teaching will be delivered through a combination of online and on-campus lectures and classes. There will be a reading week in Week 6 of the LT.

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the LT.

Formative coursework:

One essay to be submitted on week 7 of the LT. The formative essay will offer an outline of the final essay - including key indicative reading. The feedback will be used in two ways: 1) to guide students' critical thinking in line with course learning outcomes; 2) to guide students on the key aspect of formatting an academic argument using literature and critical debate. Students will also be encouraged to reflect upon their learning from the presentation and use this to refi