ECTS:

4

Code:

ΚΕ0Ε45

Cycle / Level:

Undergraduate

Compulsory / Optional:

Optional

Teaching Period:

Winter

Course Content:

During the last decades, populism has emerged as one of the areas in which theoretical reflection and empirical research is increasingly strengthened within political science. In this particular course, we purport to illuminate crucial aspects of this phenomenon, placing emphasis in the consistent attempts to construct a rigorous framework for its interpretation, as well as in the comparative analysis of particular case-studies. We will focus on the relationship between populism, democracy and representation, on the function of populist movements and parties within Western Europen political systems, as well as on the role of systemic anti-populist discourses in demonising populism.

With the successful completion of this course, students: (1) will be familiarised with the historical background of the populist phenomenon and with its various theoretical interpretations. (2) will be able to employ effectively the conceptual apparatus of political science and the relevant skills. (3) will be able to move easily between the theoretical level and its corresponding conceptual constellation and the level of empirical analysis (with emphasis in comparative analysis). (4) will be in a position to understand the complexity of political phenomena and to grasp the multiple levels in which democratic institutions operate - and the function of populism within their framework.