Class Contemporary Populism

In the last three decades, international politics has witnessed a significant reconfiguration of the great political families of the Second Post-War Period, with the emergence of new relevant players at national and transnational level. In this context, a new populist wave has emerged, which is relevant due to its intensity at the turn of the 20th century into the 21st century and its transversal nature on the Left-Right axis. Contemporary populism affects the national and supranational ideological and party reality, as well as the political and academic debate. In this last dimension, in particular, contemporary populism, both left and right, is one of the most important objects of analysis today due to its impact on the model of Liberal Democracy, which is dominant in the West. Far from having produced a consensus, these analyses represent an important stimulus for the future of political institutions, consolidated values, identity-building projects and contemporary societies.

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Contemporary Populism and Scientific Debate Historical and political context of the debate Scientific approaches to populism in comparative perspective Ideational approach Political and Strategic approach Socio-Cultural approach Contemporary populism and political axis The debate about contemporary populism and historical Fascism Left-wing populism Right-wing populism and the Extremism/Radicalism question Contemporary Populism and Liberal Democracy Liberal criticism to contemporary populism as threat to democracy The impact of populism on Liberal Democracy: Identity Representation Pluralism Populism and Portuguese Democracy Historical perspective on populism in Portuguese Democracy since 1974 The new populist right in Portugal between extraplanetary extremism and parliamentary radicalism

At the beginning of the UC, students will provided with practical training to select scientific materials on the salient topics of the course from online audiovisual platforms (YouTube videos and podcasts). Today, conferences and seminars by renowned academics in the area of study of populism are also available on the websites of prestigious international universities, which work as a precious support for the analysis presented in the classroom and for the indicated bibliography.

DE LA TORRE, Carlos - Routledge Handbook of Global Populism. New York: Routledge, 2019. KALTWASSER Cristóbal Rovira, TAGGART Paul, ESPEJO Paulina Ochoa, and OSTIG UY Pierre (eds) - The Oxford Handbook of Populism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.