The Research School FUDEM, based at the Department of Cultural Sciences, aims to investigate the consequences of populism for democracy in times of crisis. The school is interdisciplinary, bringing together several disciplines within the Humanities, including Ethnology, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, and Musicology. Uniting doctoral students from six Swedish universities, FUDEM constitutes a broad national network.
New research grants now give FUDEM expanded opportunities to explore more extensive international collaborations.
In January 2026, the research school will host an international workshop at the University of Gothenburg, enabled through funding from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. The initiative is led by FUDEM’s project leader and coordinator Olga Sasunkevich, Associate Professor in Gender Studies at the University of Gothenburg.
“This gives us the opportunity to strengthen our national profile and expertise in an international environment,” she says.
The workshop will commence on 14 January 2026 with a public keynote lecture by Mercedes Barros, researcher at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina.
This is no coincidence.
“Since we claim that populist politics transgress boundaries between the Global North and the Global South, and West-East, we consider he Latin American perspective to be outmost important,” says Olga Sasunkevich. “Moreover, much of the theoretical work on populism and democracy originates in this region.”
Much of the established research on populism has centered on mainstream politics, political parties, and—perhaps most of all—on conspicious political figures such as Trump, Bolsonaro, and Orbán.
According to Olga Sasunkevich, the present workshop instead aims to provide a research concept based in the Humanities, enabling fresh perspectives on populism. The aim is to understand how populist ideas are shaped and disseminated in everyday social contexts, as well as in domains such as culture and education.
Four themes will be addressed during the workshop:
How populist ideas appeal to our emotions, strengthen a sense of community, and are expressed through language, music, and images.
How populist ideas relate to notions of “common sense,” which could result in increased anti-intellectualism and heighten the influence of conspiracy theory.
How populist politics are shaped in everyday life – in the home, at school, and in the workplace.
How populism, while being often coupled with the notion of a crisis of democracy, makes it equally important to explore new forms of resistance and alternative ways of envisioning democracy.
“We believe it is impossible to understand the current political situation without closely looking at art, culture, and everyday practices,” says Olga Sasunkevich. “We are interested in broader social, political and, importantly, cultural shifts that allow undemocratic leaders coming to power using democratic means.”
The ambition is that a future international network will result in long-term collaborations, the development of joint publications, and the production of new research applications. Also, FUDEM’s doctoral students can start to expand their international networks.
“We hope that the workshop lays foundation for international collaboration between scholars who take a novel, interdisciplinary stance on populist politics", says Olga Sasunkevich.
