Populism has become a global topic of interest and this is especially so in Europe and in the United States where internet searches around the term are spiking. Among the researchers gaining a name for interesting analysis of this phenomenon is Stanford University’s Anna Grzymala-Busse. On October 30^th, the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies at the University of Michigan published a video of Grzymala-Busse discussing her most recent research.

Can populism actually be a threat to our democracy or can it be that unconventional politicians use it to support the real concerns of citizens? Well you will get some good insights from the video. From the event description:

Populist parties and politicians are surging in both developed and new democracies, prompting much analytical and popular concern. Their rise is largely due to the failure of mainstream political parties to articulate and respond to popular concerns about immigration, changing labor markets, and perceived cultural threats. This talk explains how populists benefited from the shortcomings of mainstream parties, how they gained power in several countries, and the consequences of their governance for the formal and informal institutions of liberal democracy.

Anna Grzymala-Busse is the Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor of International Studies in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University. Her research interests include political parties, state development and transformation, informal political institutions, religion and politics, and post-communist politics. She is the author of Redeeming the Communist Past, Rebuilding Leviathan, and Nations Under God. 

The video lasts for about 1 hour. Take a look:

As a bonus, here is Grzymala-Busse on a recent podcast “The Future of Everything with Russ Altman” in a segment titled “The future of populism and political movements with guest Anna Grzymala-Busse”:

https://soundcloud.com/user-458541487/the-future-of-populism-political-movements-w-guest-anna-grzymala-busse