Adv Sem:

PREREQUISITE: 3 COURSES IN SOCIOLOGY INCLUDING SOC-UA 1, SOC-UA 2 OR SOC-UA 3 OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR. SAME AS LWSOC-UA 936.

Over the past twenty years, populism, exclusionary nationalism, and authoritarianism—three central features of radical-right politics—have become increasingly commonplace in contemporary democracies. Why are radical parties currently experiencing a resurgence? Why are anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim claims and policies central to their campaigns? What drives public support for this type of politics? What are the consequences of radical parties gaining access to state power? And how do mainstream parties respond to these developments? To answer these questions, this course will draw on a diverse literature in sociology, political science, and history, and apply the resulting insights to a wide range of empirical cases, from Brexit in the UK and the Trump presidency in the United States, to democratic backsliding in Hungary and Poland. We will consider party strategies, public opinion, collective identities, and the cultural and structural factors that increase the mutual resonance between these political phenomena in particular historical circumstances. DEPARTMENT CONSENT REQUIRED

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