In many countries and regions across the world populist movements and leaders have gained influence. Fuelled by growing disillusionment with democracy, populists have challenged the legitimacy of democratic institutions and sometimes actively weakened them. With both the principles and the practice of democracy facing emerging challenges, this conference brings together experts across a range of disciplines to understand the causes of the populist threat, the vulnerabilities of contemporary democracy and, crucially, potential policy responses.

As part of its strategy, the LSE is placing a high priority on research themes related to governance, democracy and social cohesion, while it also strives to support and enable collaboration across disciplines both internally and externally. The Directorate, in partnership with the School of Public Policy and the recently launched Beveridge 2.0 programme, organised a two-day event, comprising of a public lecture and a workshop convening leading academics working in the field. This workshop explores the interaction between economic and cultural explanations of the current populist surge, its social, political and economic outcomes as well as the way in which political economy, the media, and social movements have been used by populist narratives, shaping current political strategies.

See the current tentative programme here.

Meet our speakers and chair

Tarik Abou-Chadi (@tabouchadi) is Associate Professor in European Union and Comparative European Politics at Nuffield College, University of Oxford.

Ben Ansell (@benwansell) is Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions in the Department of Politics and International Relations and Professorial Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.

Pablo Barberá (@p_barbera) is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California.

Thiemo Fetzer (@fetzert) is Professor in the Economics department at the University of Warwick.

Sara Hobolt (@sarahobolt) is the Sutherland Chair in European Institutions and professor in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Elisabeth Ivarsflaten is Professor in the Department of Comparative Politics at the University of Bergen. 

Gilat Levy is Professor of Economics of the Department of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Torsten Persson is Professor of Economics at Stockholm University. 

Andrés Rodríguez-Pose (@rodriguez_pose) is Professor of Economic Geography of the Department of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington (@jsskeffington) is Assistant Professor of Social Psychology of the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Piero Stanig (@PStanig) is Associate Professor of Political Science (with tenure) at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy.

More about this event

The LSE School of Public Policy (@LSEPublicPolicy) equips you with the skills and ideas to transform people and societies. It is an international community where ideas and practice meet. Their approach creates professionals with the ability to analyse, understand and resolve the challenges of contemporary governance.