William Halm

William (Will) Halm is a second-year Ph.D. student whose research focuses on populist party politics in Western democracies. He considers both the demand-side factors driving the election of populists and the strategies populist parties take to maintain power. Currently, he is researching why established parties that co-opt the stances of right-wing populists are failing to win votes, as support for established parties dwindles across the West.

Recently, he has researched popular demand for Brexit, attitudes toward Ukrainian refugees in Poland and Germany, and the ability of challenger populists to cast incumbent populists as the elite. His work has appeared in the American Journal of Sociology, Socius, and the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. Before coming to Berkeley, he graduated with a B.A. in Government from Wesleyan University, performed survey research at the University of Pennsylvania, and conducted content analysis at the Pew Research Center.