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Shock Following US Elections and the Triumph of Populism

On November 17, 2016, just a few days after the shock result of the presidential election in the USA, a group of renowned experts will be meeting in New York City to discuss the boom in political populism on both sides of the Atlantic. The debate is a joint initiative of the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gert Bucerius, the Columbia Journalism School, and the German Center for Research and Innovation, New York. It is both conclusion and climax of a “think lab” attended by doctoral candidates from all over the world. The group is attempting to inject some fresh ideas and a sense of order into a highly controversial debate that affects all of us. “Right now, most of us can only react with shock and disappointment. Nevertheless, we have to see it as a challenge. At the same time, we want to promote international exchange between researchers of all ages“, says Dr. Christian Peters, The Managing Director of BIGSSS.

Populism, according to the dictionary, describes “politics shaped by opportunism and populist policies: Often of a demagogic nature, it aims at influencing the political mood of a nation and securing popular support to win elections”. It is a phenomenon as widely spread in Europe as it is in the USA – take Brexit, the British referendum on whether to remain in the European Union, for example.

Populists simplify political issues and deliberately set out to polarize voters. They offer seemingly straightforward solutions to complex problems. Although they claim to be especially democratic, speaking on behalf of the “ordinary” people who have supposedly been neglected by the political establishment, at the same time they seek scapegoats to blame for what is going wrong in society.

How can the boom in populism be explained?

How can this boom be explained? Why does it come at the same time in North America as in many European countries? What role do the media play, especially the social media, in the rise and spread of populism? Questions like these will occupy the interdisciplinary panel of eminent scholars, journalists, and communication experts meeting in the German House in New York on November 17. The participants are politics professors Jan-Werner Müller (Princeton University) and Martin Nonhoff (Uni Bremen), the journalist and sociologist Professor Todd Gitlin (Columbia University), and Tara McGuiness, Senior Advisor to the Director of the White House’s Office of Management. The discussion is moderated by Michael Werz, Professor at Georgetown University and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.

A three-day intensive think lab under the title “Booming populism: On the Language and Practice of Political Polarization” is taking place prior to the panel discussion. The participants are doctoral candidates from a variety of BIGSSS disciplines, the Columbia Journalism School, and fellows of the ZEIT-Stiftung. Their task is to develop questions and hypotheses on the topic of political populism in preparation for the panel discussion on November 17. The President of the University of Bremen, Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter, emphasizes the topicality of the event: “Today, so shortly after the surprising election result in the United States, we are jolted into realization of the dramatic and explosive effects populism exerts on all of us. I’m nevertheless very happy to note that BIGSSS – and therefore the Bremen social sciences – assume such a prominent position in the discussion”.

BIGSSS is a graduate school run jointly by the University of Bremen and Jacobs University. About 110 doctoral students are currently enrolled in the BIGSSS core disciplines of political science, sociology and psychology. They come from all over the world. The event “Booming Populism” is supported by the German research Foundation and Stiftung Bremer Wertpapierbörse.

Contact persons:
Dr. Christian Peters
Managing Director of BIGSSS
email: c.peters@bigsss-bremen.de
Phone: +49 421 218-66400

Maike Koschorreck
Senior Coordinator of the Dean‘s Office BIGSSS
email:maikek@bigsss-bremen.de
Phone: +49 421 218-66460

Anstecker zur US-Wahl 2016
Warum der Populismus zeitgleich in Nordamerika und vielen Ländern Europas Einzug hält, wird unter Bremer Beteiligung im November in New York diskutiert.