During the past decade, populism has become a key term in political debate. Since the financial crash of 2008, there has been a noticeable rise in what many scholars call populist movements. Once considered fringe campaigns, these movements have become central to contemporary political discourse and our everyday political life.

At this juncture, we must ask ourselves: Is populism a threat to democratic institutions or a potential revitalization of the democratic process? Are we witnessing a reaction to the failures of liberal democracy, or is populism an inherent aspect of any political mobilization that claims to represent the will of ‘the people’?

Dramatized around Richard Wagner’s renowned opera Rienzi, der letzte der Tribunen, The Specter of Populism explores these questions through interviews with academics, philosophers and theorists including Jodi Dean, Faisal Devji, Oliver Marchart, William Mazzarella, Chantal Mouffe, Kolja Möller, and Jan-Werner Müller. These experts from the fields of Political Science, Philosophy, Anthropology and History shed light on the complex theories of populist politics and their relevance to our current political landscape.