Populism is rising in the European Union (EU) and is a growing concern. Populist governments can undermine democracy and can be left or right-wing. This research fellowship evaluates the causes of populism in the EU and identifies the key explanatory variables. The research examines both the traditional causes such as economic and immigration, and more recent explanations like corruption and disinformation. Data was collected from several databases and condensed into a dataset focusing on 28 countries (EU and the UK) between the years 2000 and 2025.
My goal was to improve my knowledge of research methods and add to existing populism studies. I hoped to better understand populism and its primary causes. Throughout this experience, I learned new coding programs and strengthened my skills in Excel, research writing, and data collection and interpretation. I have also gained confidence in conducting research. This fellowship has inspired me to pursue a PhD and provided the foundational skills needed to do so.