 The course is about populism, authoritarianism and the two crises in the world today. There is a crisis of the economy that has been going on since 2007 and that around the world continues unresolved and we now have a crisis of democracy, a political crisis. Around the world democracies are on the retreat and authoritarian regimes and populism are on the rise. The far right is on the rise. The course examines these two crises. It looks at the fragilities in the global economy and the fragilities in the global political systems that can help us to understand why we find ourselves in this predicament today and what are the alternatives. You should take this course if you are worried about the global economic crisis. You should take the course if you are concerned about political developments in the world. You should take the course to come and discuss Brexit. You should take the course if you want to talk about the politics of Donald Trump or if you want to discuss political developments in India or in Turkey or in Brazil. You should take the course if you are concerned about authoritarianism in Eastern Europe. You should take the course if you want to see the connections between the global economic crisis and the crisis of democracy. SOAS is a very unique university institution. We have one of the greatest groups of specialists in the social sciences, arts, humanities and languages anywhere in the world. It's a very international school and it will bring together for this particular course people who have been working critically and constructively on the economy and on the political angle and aspects of these crises in the world today. SOAS is unique. Come and study with us.