POPULISM AND DEMOCRACY IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE - 2025/6

Module Overview

In a time of increasing challenges to the core components of representative democracy, this course provides an introduction to populism in theory and practice, employing an increasingly consensual ideational approach to populism. It introduces participants to an extensive conceptual debate, historical and current populist forces, their characteristics, causes and consequences, as well as the often-ambivalent relationship between populism and democracy.

This course aims to introduce students to some of the most relevant issues and debates revolving around populism, its causes and consequences. Readings and activities have been carefully selected to deepen students’ knowledge of specific cases. They are also designed to build more general critical thinking and analytical skills that students can use to form their own understanding of the relationship between populism and democracy, as well as present their views in both oral and written formats, developing a global perspective on a topical issue of political culture. To do so, this module addresses the following main issues:

• concepts of populism (assessment of definitions and presentation of populism as a set of ideas)


• overview of populism amongst the masses and elites


• overview of populist forces in Europe, Latin America and the USA


• causes of populism


• consequences of populism, and most notably its ambivalent relationship with democracy


• implications of and responses to populism 

Module provider

Politics & International Relations

Module Leader

ALBERTAZZI Daniele (Politics IR)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Populism has become a widely debated and well-researched theme. The term is often ill-defined and used in a pejorative manner, contributing to misconceptions and inaccurate interpretations of what is populism and, more importantly, what it is not. The course will introduce participants to an extensive conceptual, theoretical and empirical scholarship on populism. This will provide participants with a more precise understanding of the concept and allow for consideration of the various ways we can examine populism. Building on this, the course discusses instances of populism in various contexts and reflects on the ambivalent relationship between populism and democracy. Throughout this discussion, the course explicitly takes a comparative approach and relies both on quantitative and qualitative analyses in support of its discussions. Special attention will be paid to the core features of populism, such as anti-elitism and popular sovereignty, as well as its causes and consequences for democratic functioning. The content aims in enhancing global and cultural intelligence as well as build resilience on topics of sensitive nature.

In a time of increasing challenges to the core components of representative democracy, this module provides an introduction to populism in theory and practice, employing an increasingly consensual ideational approach to populism. It introduces participants to an extensive conceptual debate, historical and current populist forces, their characteristics, causes and consequences, as well as the often-ambivalent relationship between populism and democracy.

Indicative content includes:

• Concept: The ideational approach to populism


• Historical and contemporary populist forces


• Characteristics and features of populism


• The ambivalent relationship between populism and democracy


• Causes and consequences of populism

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to:

• demonstrate an understanding of and capacity to engage with conceptual/theoretical debates.


• employ theory to underpin an explanation of a particular research question.


• employ empirical evidence to make a theoretical argument.


• use the comparative method to build (or revise/qualify) a theoretical argument


• utilise previous research methods knowledge to enhance digital skills and employability-related elements

• Research plan – 1,500 words


• Research paper – 4,000 words

Module aims

• Identify the key instances of populism in a range of different geographical and historical settings.
• Develop a position on how populism should be conceptualized and, possibly, defined.
• Gain a sophisticated understanding of the causes and dynamics of populist mobilisation.
• Identify recurrent features in the government style of populist leaders that are in office, particularly in relation to compliance with democratic standards/procedures.
• Engage with debates on the relationship between populism and democracy.
• Use the module as an opportunity to further enhance global and cultural intelligence around sensitive political situations
• Expand research and digital skills from previous qualitative and quantitative methods training
• Consider the impact on populism on various policies from immigration and asylum to environmental and sustainability policies

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

Build on students’ existing knowledge gained through in particular POL2029 and POL2035 by developing their understanding of why and how populism develops in democratic systems and authoritarian electoral regimes. This is done through an interactive lecture in which students are able to engage with the subject content as well as seminar activities. The latter are there to ensure that students are connecting with the topic through student-led discussion. The seminar discussions facilitate the enhancement of global and cultural intelligence in discussing issues around populism, but also build resilience in defending positions in contentious issues.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Seminar style workshops            


• Additional captured content and digital resources are provided through a dedicated website through SurreyLearn

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: POL3081

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.