Over the past decade, the rise of populist parties and movements in wealthy, established democracies has raised scholarly concerns about the impact of populism on democracy. Populism can undermine democratic institutions and foster societal polarization that erodes conditions for peaceful political discourse and cohesion. However, populism and its consequences pose even greater challenges in Global South nations. There, legacies of colonialism and weak governance give rise to populist movements with more radical platforms and greater electoral success. The resulting polarization is linked to heightened political violence and democratic instability.

This research axis under the OSUN Democracy and Development project seeks to enrich the scholarly discourse on populism and polarization between Global South and Global North scholars. Our overarching goals are to generate improved theories about the causes and effects of populism and to develop policies that can dampen demand for populism and mitigate its impacts. Fellows can pursue research in three related areas: (1) empirical study of populism and affiliated ideologies like nationalism and pluralism to hone conceptual understanding and measurement tools; (2) Global South case studies that test theories of populism’s origins and outcomes; and (3) research into affective and pernicious polarization, especially in the Global South context. In addition, Fellows should explore the policy implications of their work, emphasizing strategies to reduce populism’s negative societal repercussions.

Preference will be given to interdisciplinary and cross-regional comparative proposals, particularly those linked thematically to other research axes within the OSUN Democracy and Development project: democratizing the developmental state, exclusionary regimes and autocratization, and democracy’s discontents: new forms of social, political, and economic mobilization.