*The V-Dem Institute then created two indices, based on the experts’ responses. The first index, populism, measures the extent to which a political party says it is against elites and favors majority rule over consensus. The second, illiberalism (or non-liberalism), evaluates parties based on several criteria, including how likely they are to launch personal attacks against their opponents, to what extent they support free speech and fair elections, how likely they are to violate the rights of minorities and whether or not they encourage violence against their political rivals.

Critical Analysis

1. What is populism?

2. What is liberalism?

3. In 1982, how close were the U.S. Democratic Party and Republican Party in terms of their liberalism and populism?

4. What has happened to the U.S. Democratic Party and Republican Party since 1982?

5. What impact did Donald Trump have on the level of populism and illiberalism in the Republican Party?

6. Why do you think the Republican Party has moved so far away from liberalism and towards populism?

7. Do you think populism is good for our country?

8. In what ways is the U.S. Constitution anti-populist?

9. In what ways is the U.S. Constitution pro-liberalism (or anti-iliberalism)?

10. What political party on the graph above is most similar to the current U.S. Republican Party and to the current U.S. Democratic Party?

11. Explain whether you think that in a post-Trump era the Republican Party will reset to it’s old more liberal and less populist self and predict where American political parties are heading?

12. Because of major demographic shifts, Whites will become a minority in the U.S. in the year 2042. Some critics claim that White’s loss of majority status is causing America’s growing populism and illiberalism and will force America to chose whether it will continue to be a democracy. Respond to this claim.

Learning Extension

Action Extension

Research one of the (non-American) parties listed on the graph and share what you learned about them in class or online.