Dilip Gaonkar explores the resurgence of populism across the globe in the twenty-first century, starting with a definition and then covering a wide range of political and ideological positions, from progressive to conservative. His talk is particularly relevant today, since Brexit and the election of Donald Trump demonstrated that even the most steadfast democracies are not immune to the lures of populist movements. He will also address the dismissive reactions that proponents of liberal democracy have when confronted with resurgent populisms, both historically and today. The view that populism is “mere rhetoric,” exclusionary, and bereft of social content, he contends, is both reactive and unproductive. Gaonkar argues instead that populism no matter its ideological position invariably draw their normative force from the egalitarian impulse for equity and dignity.

In cooperation with Museum THE KENNEDYS and Berlin Science Week