Monday 19 April 2021, 11am-12noon (BST)

This session explores the issues around medical populism – a concept developed by Lasco and colleagues – within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. It sets out the core elements of populism in the form of a populist triangle in which the elites, the people (composed of both the in-group and those deemed to be outsiders), and the will of the people, form the basis of the construct.

We consider some of the underlying drivers that operate in the spaces between these three elements and, in particular, the role of expertise, evidence, and communication of risk as factors that are shaped by populist narratives.

We consider the role of fear within the generation of uncertainty and the impact that such approaches have for security at multiple levels. The session concludes with a consideration of the challenges faced by organisations when communicating uncertainty.

Presented by

Professor Denis Fischbacher-Smith (info), Professor of Risk and Resilience, University of Glasgow