Why are populists successful?

In the past few years there has been a worldwide rise in people voting for populists. In some countries like the U.S. or Brazil a populist was elected president. Therefore nowadays informing about populism is more important than ever before.

To inform the people about the threats and dangers of populism for our democracy. Our aim is rising awareness of the topic and teaching how to deal with populism.

The facilitaters need to have deep understanding of the topic. Furthermore they should be motivated and able to speak freely in front of an audience.

The duration of working out the content together with the participans depends a lot on the participants and can vary widely.

Introduction and first connotations: The facilitaters and the participants introduce themselves. Each participant draws or writes his first thoughts about the topic on a piece of paper.15 min

Populism poll: The participants use their smartphones to answer a questionnaire about populism. Afterwards the results will be analysed together. 10 min

What is populism? Theoretical part about the term "populism"10 min

Characteristics of populism and populist rhetoric are discussed together using examples10 min

Short break5 min

Why are populist successful? Theoretical part10 min

Analysis of a populist speech. The participants work in pairs/small groups. Afterwards the results are discussed together.35 min

Why is populism dangerous for our democracy? Threats and risks of populism are discussed together.15 min