Subjects

Your browser does not support JavaScript, or its support is disabled. Some features may not be available.

The Crisis of Democracy and Populism: Culture, Structure, Causes, Consequences - JTM734

Title:	The Crisis of Democracy and Populism: Culture, Structure, Causes, Consequences
Czech title:	Krize demokracie a populismus: kultura, struktura, příčiny, důsledky
Form of teaching:	seminar
Guaranteed by:	Department of Russian and East European Studies (23-KRVS)
Faculty:	Faculty of Social Sciences
Actual:	from 2025
Duration in semesters:	1
Semester:	summer
E-Credits:	6
Examination process:	summer s.:
Hours per week, examination:	summer s.:1/1, Ex [HT]
Capacity:	7 / unknown (15)
Maximum number of enrolled students:	15
Min. number of students:	unlimited
4EU+:	no
Virtual mobility / capacity:	no
Key competences:	critical thinking
State of the course:	taught
Language:	English
Teaching methods:	full-time
Repeated enrollment:	2 / 2 / 1 / 2
Note:	course can be enrolled in outside the study plan enabled for web enrollment priority enrollment if the course is part of the study plan

Guarantor:	PhDr. Jiří Kocián, Ph.D.
Teacher(s):	PhDr. Jiří Kocián, Ph.D.
Class:	Courses for incoming students

SS schedule Noticeboard

Annotation -

Populism, Politics and Culture: a crisis of democracy?

The course was conceptualized by Professor Jan Kubik (visiting professor from Rutgers University/UCL) and Jiří Kocián, who is currently teaching it.

For the last several years, we have been studying the rise of right-wing populism, trying to understand its main features and diagnose its impact on global politics. The main objective of the course is to replicate that process and discuss how a researcher develops the topic, reviews the literature, prepares research tools, conducts research, and writes up the results. The course is conceived as a workshop/seminar; therefore, each student is expected to be actively involved in class discussions and presentations and prepare their own paper. I hope that our conversations will help us become better researchers, more careful thinkers, and more thoughtful citizens.

Winston Churchill once famously quipped: “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time” (from a House of Commons speech, November 11, 1947). Recently, however, there have been many debates about democracy’s weaknesses and its peculiar tendency towards “exhaustion,” both in the well-established democratic states and the newly democratizing ones. In many countries, trust in democratic institutions is declining and there is also a lot of talk about democratic deficit and democratic backsliding, both at the level of states and in the international arena.

Churchill’s formulation has been challenged from several directions, as people in many countries express their disappointment with democracy's performance, doubt its effectiveness, and question its legitimacy. Moreover, the number of people willing to accept authoritarian leaders has risen considerably in many countries over the last 20 or so years. Yet, there is something new in the present situation. While several years ago, competitive authoritarianism (a system we will briefly analyze) was commonly seen as the main rival of democracy, today everyone seems to be talking about populism. We will try to answer several key questions about this phenomenon: What is the meaning of this term, and what are the phenomena it refers to? Is populism good, as it aims to return power to the people, or is it bad, as it undermines the democratic architecture? Or perhaps it is ambiguously somewhat good and somewhat bad? What are the different forms or types of populism? How much does it vary from one country to another? Is it similar to fascism? If so, how?

To develop a broader understanding of the mechanisms and background against which we are observing populism, the course sets out its second major aim: to delve into the discussion of culture. We will proceed to review several key concepts that should help to study the relationship between politics (particularly power) and culture. An assumption on which our investigations will be based does not seem to be controversial: humans not only compete for resources and power but also for the “proper” interpretation of the world. In this process, they create, disseminate, and interpret meanings, values, and norms they believe are “correct,” thus endowing the world with meaning. This process is rarely politically innocent; it often is a component (dimension) of power games and competition for resources. In other words, power comes not only from achieving political authority or economic domination, but also from establishing thought control. I want to keep this realization squarely at the center of our analyses. We will work to isolate and analyze the cultural dimension in such momentous processes as the fall of state socialism and democratization, the rise of populisms of various colors, globalization, and the re-definition of the modern state.

The course is designed to familiarize students with: (a) the basic ideas of the literature on populism, (b) dominant current attempts to define its features and determine its impact, and (c) attempts to formulate strategies of combating its spread, as most experts believe it is detrimental to political stability and opens the way towards authoritarianism.

Last update: Kocián Jiří, PhDr., Ph.D. (27.02.2026)

Kurz připravili profesor Jan Kubik (hostující profesor z Rutgers University/UCL) a Jiří Kocián, který jej v současnosti vyučuje.

Winston Churchill kdysi prohlásil: „Demokracie je nejhorší formou vlády, s výjimkou všech ostatních forem, které byly čas od času vyzkoušeny“ (z projevu ve sněmovně reprezentantů, 11. listopadu 1947). V poslední době se však vede mnoho debat o slabinách demokracie a jejím zvláštním sklonu k „vyčerpání“, a to jak v zavedených demokratických státech, tak i v těch nově demokratizujících se. V mnoha zemích klesá důvěra v demokratické instituce a hodně se hovoří i o demokratickém deficitu a demokratickém úpadku, a to jak na úrovni států, tak na mezinárodní scéně.

Churchillova formulace byla zpochybňována z několika stran, protože lidé v mnoha zemích vyjadřují zklamání z fungování demokracie, pochybují o její účinnosti a zpochybňují její legitimitu. Navíc počet lidí ochotných akceptovat autoritářské vůdce v mnoha zemích za posledních zhruba 20 let značně vzrostl. V současné situaci se však skrývá něco nového. Zatímco před několika lety bylo kompetitivní autoritářství (systém, který si krátce rozebereme) běžně vnímáno jako hlavní rival demokracie, dnes se zdá, že všichni mluví o populismu. Pokusíme se odpovědět na několik klíčových otázek týkajících se tohoto jevu: Co tento pojem znamená a jaké jevy označuje? Je populismus dobrý, protože se snaží vrátit moc lidem, nebo je špatný, protože podkopává demokratickou architekturu? Nebo je snad nejednoznačně v jistém smyslu dobrý a v jistém smyslu špatný? Jaké jsou různé formy nebo typy populismu? Jak moc se liší v jednotlivých zemích? Je podobný fašismu? Pokud ano, jak?

Kurz je navržen tak, aby seznámil studenty s: (a) základními myšlenkami literatury o populismu, (b) dominantními současnými pokusy o definování jeho rysů a určení jeho dopadu a (c) pokusy o formulování strategií boje proti jeho šíření, protože většina odborníků se domnívá, že je škodlivý pro politickou stabilitu a otevírá cestu k autoritářství.

Posledních několik let se intenzivně vzestup pravicového populismu, snažíme se pochopit jeho hlavní rysy a diagnostikovat jeho dopad na globální politiku. Hlavním cílem kurzu je replikovat tento proces a diskutovat o tom, jak výzkumník rozvíjí téma, hodnotí literaturu, připravuje výzkumné nástroje, provádí výzkum a píše o výsledcích výzkumu. Kurz je koncipován jako workshop/seminář; proto se od každého studenta očekává aktivní zapojení do diskusí a prezentací ve třídě a příprava vlastní práce. Doufám, že naše debaty nám pomohou zlepšit své badatelské kompetence, a pomůže nám rozvíjet své občanské povědomí.

Last update: Kocián Jiří, PhDr., Ph.D. (18.02.2026)

Aim of the course

Upon successful completion of the course, you should be able to:

Design, complete, and defend a research project
Understand the process of research and discovery in political science and social sciences in general
Have solid knowledge of various regime types
Understand/explain how democracy works and how it can be weakened or destroyed
Understand/explain populism, its origins, varieties, and consequences

Last update: Kocián Jiří, PhDr., Ph.D. (18.02.2026)

Course completion requirements

All required readings should be completed before class.

Before each class (by 20:00 on Mondays), you’ll submit a memo on each reading (about 250 words). Its goal is to help you organize your thoughts on the readings and give me an idea of how you are working. You are expected to complete at least 8 of these (so you can skip two weeks if needed).

Your memo should have three parts:

· Summary of the argument:

o What are the main ideas/points of the readings?)

o What types of questions are being asked in this reading?

o What types of explanations and concepts are being offered as responses to the authors’ questions?

o What form of evidence or assumptions about what counts as evidence (sources and methods) is the author using (if any)?

· Questions:

o What did you find unclear or confusing?

o What needs to be developed?

· Criticisms or praise:

o On what points and why do you disagree with the author?

o In what ways did the readings challenge your thinking?

I’ll provide an overview of the readings and the theme for the week at the beginning of class and

The rest of the class will be a discussion in which everyone is expected to contribute. I’ll also have you

all help lead a session by providing some organizing thoughts, readings, and developing a discussion

questions to start the conversation, and potentially suggest some activities to aid in

understanding and analysis.

Last update: Kocián Jiří, PhDr., Ph.D. (23.02.2026)

Teaching methods

Use of generative AI tools:

The use and citation of generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT or MS Copilot) in seminar papers and other coursework must comply with the decrees of the IMS Director No. 7/2023 and 9/2023.

Generative AI tools may be used unless explicitly prohibited by the instructor. However, they may not be used to generate substantial sections of the text or replace the student’s own intellectual contribution. The student remains fully responsible for any content generated with assistance of AI tools.

Presenting AI-generated content, whether verbatim, rephrased, or only slightly modified, as one’s own work constitutes plagiarism.

Every submitted paper must include a transparent statement specifying which generative AI tools were used, in which stage of the work they were employed, and how they were used, or confirming that no generative AI tools were used. If this statement is missing or incomplete, the instructor is not permitted to accept the paper for evaluation.

Unless the instructor explicitly prohibits the use of generative AI tools, the decision to use or not to use them rests fully with the student. The student has the right to request that the instructor does not use AI assistance for evaluating their work.

Last update: Hrubá Kateřina, Mgr. (07.01.2026)

Course assessment methods and requirements for successful completion, grading scheme

Students’ performance will be assessed on the basis of: (1) attendance and active participation in class discussions, (2) preparation of short weekly reading summaries for at least eight sessions, (3) a research design outline for the final paper (due May 6, 2026), and (4) the final paper.

Last update: Kocián Jiří, PhDr., Ph.D. (18.02.2026)

Syllabus

Schedule: Wednesdays 12:30, Room C122 (teaching begins Wednesday, February 25th)

Complete syllabus with all readings is on the Moodle platform here: https://dl2.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=5878

Session 1: (February 25): Introduction. Basic ideas of the course. What is populism? What is Illiberalism?

(1) Kubik, Jan. 2020. “The POPREBEL and FATIGUE Manifesto.” Working Paper no. 1, POPREBEL Working Paper Series, edited by Jan Kubik and Richard Mole. Accessed 27 August 2024. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6402044.