Accessibility, Populism and Democracy: Unearthing the Value of Spontaneous Face-to-Face Interactions Event

Event details

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Nigeria, Dr. Roelofs explores the concept of accessibility in democratic practice—the maintenance of spaces for spontaneous, direct interactions between rulers and the ruled. This idea, first developed in her book, opens new ways of thinking about populism and its complex relationship to democracy. In this talk, she connects her ethnographic insights to wider debates on populism in African politics, showing how attention to accessibility helps disentangle different populist practices—from leaders’ physical presence and unscripted encounters with citizens to more staged forms of political performance. By highlighting accessibility as both a democratic value and a socio-cultural practice, Dr. Roelofs invites a rethinking of populism, charisma, and participation beyond Western-centred theories.