Theorising populist foreign policy

Organised by

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• GGP: Global Governance Programme
• Decentering Eurocentrism

The rise of populist governments all over the world has led to a growing debate on the impact of populism on world politics and on the ‘liberal international order’. Yet, the international consequences of populism are still understudied both in theoretical and in empirical terms. This presentation will address the question of how and why the formation of populist governments leads to changes in foreign policy. It will outline a theory of populist foreign policy that addresses both the type and the extent of foreign policy change under populist governments in the following fields: conflict behaviour, provision of global public goods, engagement in multilateral institutions, and diversification of partnerships. In particular, the mechanisms of mobilisation and personalisation of foreign policy making are essential to explain variations in populist foreign policy. The presentation will provide empirical insights from an ongoing collaborative research project that studies populist foreign policy in five country cases from different world regions (Bolivia, India, Italy, the Philippines, and Turkey).

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS IN PRESENCE ONLY