IPSA President's Plenary at the 2025 IPSA World Congress

IPSA President Pablo Oñate will chair the IPSA President’s Plenary session at the 2025 IPSA World Congress on 15 July 2025 at 13:45.

The plenary, titled Populism, Polarization and the Consequences on Democracy will feature the following distinguished scholars who will explore the challenges posed by populism and polarization:

• Chair: Pablo Oñate (IPSA President, University of Valencia, Spain)
• Azul Aguiar Aguilar (IPSA EC member & WC2025 Program Co-Chair, and ITESO, Jesuit University of Guadalajara, México)
• Carlos de la Torre (University of Florida, United States)
• Magdalena Musiał-Karg (IPSA EC member, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland)
• Murat Somer (Koç University, Türkiye)
• Kurt Weyland (University of Texas at Austin, United States)
• Ji Yeon Hong (University of Michigan, United States)

Populism and polarization have become global phenomena, affecting a large number of political systems across five continents. Although some positive effects could be pointed out, in most cases populism and high levels of polarization have negative consequences for democratic institutions, their quality, and the democratic attitudes held by citizens. These phenomena are present in many of the autocratization tendencies recent and more institutionalized democracies are suffering. The plenary will analyze these trends and how they can be resisted and reversed. The participants, renowned experts in the field, will present both theoretical contributions as well as empirical case studies on these significant trends.

For further information, please visit the World Congress website.