Speaker(s): Professor Sara Hobolt, Professor Michael Ignatieff, Professor Andrés Velasco, Jesse Norman MP | Until COVID-19 hit, populist politicians of the right and the left –many of them with evident authoritarian leanings— were on the rise around the world. This panel will focus on the causes and consequences of this populist surge, and will discuss ways in which liberal democracies can respond to the challenge of authoritarian populism. Because populist governments have been especially ineffective in dealing with the pandemic, the panel will also ask whether populists will pay a price at the polls or whether, on the contrary, the economic crunch resulting from COVID-19 will further enlarge their base of political support. Sara Hobolt (@sarahobolt) is the Sutherland Chair in European Institutions and Professor in the Department of Government and the European Institute. Michael Ignatieff (@M_Ignatieff) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He is currently rector and President of Central European University. Andrés Velasco (@AndresVelasco) is Professor of Public Policy and Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Jesse Norman (@Jesse_Norman) is Financial Secretary to the Treasury, responsible for HM Revenue and Customs and the National Infrastructure Strategy. His books include biographies of Edmund Burke and Adam Smith. He has been the Member of Parliament for Hereford and South Herefordshire since 2010. Tim Besley is School Professor of Economics of Political Science and Sir W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics in the Department of Economics at LSE. LSEPPR is a brand new public policy journal hosted by the School of Public Policy at LSE and published by LSE Press (@LSEPress). It will bring together policy-relevant research from across the social sciences. The first issue focuses on the causes and consequences of populist politics around the world, and discusses ways in which liberal democracies can respond to the challenge of authoritarian populism. The School of Public Policy (@LSEPublicPolicy) is an international community where ideas and practice meet. Our approach creates professionals with the ability to analyse, understand and resolve the challenges of contemporary governance. The Spinoza Programme on Institutions, Organizations and Growth supports research and events at LSE. It looks at contemporary challenges in economic policy formation to support long-run development. Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEPPR