The aim of the course is to analyse the paths of social and political change in the light of the transformations of liberal democracies. The course will critically address the most recent theories on modernization in Western societies, highlighting how and how much they affect the social representation of political identities and the trust towards political institutions. Furthermore, the course will explore populism as a political phenomenon that threatens Western societies and democraties, focusing on its social bases, the relationship with political representation and the project of democracy against liberal democracies. The aim is to develop a sociological toolbox for reading contemporary democracies and to train students in the empirical research on the topic