There is hardly any actor that has been under such intense public observation as populist parties. This is, of course, due to the ever-rising success of these actors in many political systems. The aim of this course is to shed light on populism, the success of populist parties and their impact on political systems and democracy. First, we start by exploring important concepts related to populism and their ideologies. Second, we then focus on populist parties and their voters. Lastly, we proceed by examining the impact of populism in government, parliaments, and on democracy. We conclude the course by highlighting the relationship between populism and political representation.