The Rise of Populism in Europe

We were lucky to host three researchers focused on populism and democracy this week to discuss the rise of populism in Europe! We hosted the following distinguished experts.

- Dr. Werner Krause is a postdoctoral researcher into comparative politics and radical political parties at the University of Potsdam.

- Maria Uttenthal is a researcher of trust in democratic societies at our own Hertie school, who recently defended her dissertation succesfully and shared insights thereof.

- Dr. Maria Skora is a research associate at the Institute of European Politics working on the rule of law in Europe.

Starting off our event, Dr. Krause took a look at Geert Wilders’s victory in the Netherlands, explained why he fits the populist archetype and what factors contributed to his success. Dr. Uttenthal followed suit by presenting her recently finished PhD research. She challenged alarmist notions of a “trust crisis” in European politics, showcased that there are different types of people when it comes to trust, and that commentators should be more nuanced in debating societal trends in levels of trust.

Following these research-based presentations, we switched to a more interactive conversation moderated by futurEU's very own own Federico Campatelli, an Italian first-year MIA candidate at the Hertie School. Dr. Maria Skora started off our conversation by telling us about the long-time success of populism in Poland and what we should make of this year's recent election results. Next, Federico asked our three panelists what factors they think explain the surge of rightwing populist parties throughout the continent. The panelists pointed to varying factors ranging from issues of trust, demographic factors and mainstream parties’ accommodation strategies.

Overall, this event was one with diverse European perspectives on a global issue. We look forward to engaging with students more on this topic, leading up to the 2024 European elections!