Everyone is talking about Populism and the dangers it presents to democracy, but what is it exactly? What do populists want, and why do people vote for them? Discussion of this topic is a timely addition to the Debates on Democratic Security, which have become a feature of the Organisation’s political planning work.

Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni welcomed Jan-Werner Müller, Professor of Politics at Princeton University to the Council of Europe to give a lecture and lead a debate on his theory and arguments. The Deputy Secretary General expressed a particular interest in the impact that populism may have on democratic institutions and processes, including the plurality of political systems, and, in the long term, on basic human rights and freedoms.

Professor Müller is a leading expert on democracy and author of many books, including Contesting Democracy (2011), and, recently published, ‘What Is Populism?’ (2016). He is a regular contributor to the Financial Times, the Guardian, Foreign Affairs, Prospect magazine and the London Review of Books.

The next, 10th debate on Democratic Security, will take place on 30th March, with Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, the Chairman of the Munich security conference.