Populist movements are sitting firmly in the saddle of Western democracies and have conquered a significant portion of the electorate. Where do these populist movements come from and what is “populism” exactly? Why are populist parties so successful? Who are the voters and what circumstances makes them vote like they do? And last but not least, what does the rise of populist parties mean for the functioning of our democracies? This lecture will get to the core of these questions.