When the Great Recession shook the economy in 2008, a wave of anti-establishment messages emerged that has led to a rising appeal of populist politics, according to three political scientists.

Over the past decade, people from across the political spectrum have increasingly questioned how in touch elected officials are with the concerns of ordinary people and whether Wall Street influences them more than Main Street interests. Known also as populism, these “us vs. them” sentiments have inspired new political movements in countries across the globe, including the US, UK, Brazil, France, and Sweden.

Here, three Stanford University scholars—Francis Fukuyama, Anna Grzymala-Busse, and Neil Malhotra—discuss how these political movements have gained momentum and their influence in contemporary politics.

Fukuyama is a fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Mosbacher Director of the institute’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. Grzymala-Busse is a professor of international studies and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute. Malhotra is a professor of political economy at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

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