In recent years, populism has been pivotal in polarising politics in western democracies, by bringing turmoil and awakening anti-establishment sentiment.
Our partners from the Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy presented new research that uses hard data to explain the deep roots of populist politics and identifies a significant common theme: distrust in institutions such as parliament, the media and big business.
This work, by Mirko Draca (Director, CAGE; Associate Professor, University of Warwick), suggests that traditional ideas of Left and Right should give way to a new dividing line, between anarchy and a centrist respect for rules and institutions. An economist by training, Dr Draca uses machine-learning analysis of more than 80,000 survey responses to identify global trends and attitudes common to populist voters.
Speaker:
Dr Mirko Draca, Director, CAGE
Chair:
James Kirkup, Director, Social Market Foundation
Re-watch the event livestream here
