Populism Unleashed: Democracy in Action or Decline?

Assistant Professor Michael Henderson Manship School of Mass Communication

Populism is on the rise across the globe, including here in the United States. What explain this rise of populism? What are its consequences? What, if any, risk does it pose to the health of democracies?

In this course, we will examine past and present examples of populist leaders and movements, including the People’s Party in late nineteenth century United States, Huey Long in 1930s Louisiana, Marine Le Pen in France, Boris Johnson and Brexit in the United Kingdom, and Donald Trump in the contemporary United States.