Funded by the European Union · Grant Agreement No. 101238497
Two courses,
one conversation
on European
& populist power.
The teaching component of POPULIST-GAMEMODE consists of two complementary master’s-level courses, both hosted by master’s programme Leadership and Communication in International Organizations at the Faculty of History and Philosophy of Babeș-Bolyai University. Together, they examine how leadership shapes decisions in international and European organizations – and how populist actors contest, mobilize or reshape those decisions in the public sphere.
Sole Beneficiary · Cluj-Napoca
Three pedagogical pillars
shared across both courses.
The two courses are not standalone disciplines. They are anchored in a shared pedagogical architecture committed in the Grant Agreement and operationalized in every seminar.
AI-Assisted Debates
Students use generative AI tools to structure arguments and counter-arguments on contested EU policy options, learning critically when machine reasoning extends, distorts or supplements human deliberation.
Gamified Simulations
Negotiation simulations – Council, Trilogue, ad-hoc summits – operate with mandate tokens, procedural constraints and victory conditions inspired by serious-games design, turning institutional procedures into experiential learning.
Fact-Checking Labs
Students verify political statements and decision-relevant data using a standardised four-field method (primary source · verification source · verdict · confidence level), aligned with EUvsDisinfo and EDMO professional practice.
Leadership and Decision-Making in International Organizations
Leadership și decizie în organizații internaționale
Decision-making competence for international organizational settings.
This course develops integrated decision-making competence for international organizational settings. It is structured around three axes: organizational culture and change management, decision-making models, and leadership under crises and public legitimacy pressures.
Through systematic Jean Monnet integration, the course operationalizes theoretical knowledge by analysing EU institutions, decision-making procedures, the policy cycle and the public justification of decisions. Students leave with the capacity to diagnose organizations, model decisions and write policy briefs that hold up under scrutiny.
Key topics covered.
What you will be able to do.
- Diagnose organizational culture using validated instruments (OCAI, competing values framework) and propose change interventions aligned with strategy.
- Model decision processes in international organizations, including procedural constraints, actor configurations and the EU policy cycle.
- Draft policy briefs of 600 to 1,500 words with implementation plans, indicators and public justification matrices.
- Publicly justify decisions and anticipate reputational risks across the input – throughput – output spectrum.
- Facilitate collaborative processes (negotiation, coordination) in multi-disciplinary teams.
How performance is evaluated.
Foundational literature for the course.
The Role of Leadership in the European Union: State and Citizens
Rolul Leadershipului în Uniunea Europeană: Stat și Cetățeni
Leadership in the EU as a multi-level governance system.
This course examines how national and European leaders shape decisions in Brussels, how they explain these choices at home, and how populist actors use Europe as a target or a resource in their campaigns. It maps the relationship between state institutions, political parties and citizens through real EU negotiations, election campaigns and referendums.
Students gain analytical command of EU institutions, decision procedures and contemporary populist discourse – building both interpretive depth and practical skills in discourse analysis, simulation participation and evidence verification.
Key topics covered.
What you will be able to do.
- Explain an EU dossier in terms of actors, interests and procedural constraints; analyse speeches, campaigns and media materials about the EU.
- Compare political parties’ positions and voting behaviours across the European Parliament and the Council.
- Factually verify a political statement using standardised methodology and open data sources (Eurostat, Eurobarometer, EUvsDisinfo).
- Use AI tools critically for argumentation and counter-argumentation in EU policy debates.
- Formulate evidence-based arguments in AI-assisted debates and institutional simulations (Council, Trilogue, EP committees).
How performance is evaluated.
Foundational literature for the course.
How the courses connect
with the rest of the module.
Both courses operate within a wider research and dissemination architecture. Student work feeds the Observatory, informs the annual conference and contributes materials to the module’s publications.
Populist Discourse Observatory
A working corpus of populist political statements coded by students, used as seminar material for HMR4229 (Observatory contributions, 15% of evaluation) and as decision-evidence repository for HMR4312 fact-checking labs.
Visit the Observatory →Annual Conference
The conference Manipulation and Populism in the European Union extends the curriculum into a research-and-policy forum where students present their best policy briefs and participate as discussants alongside academic and practitioner speakers.
Conference 2026 →Research & Publications
JGPCD articles, policy papers and edited volumes produced within the module update course reading lists each academic year and provide platforms where student work can be developed into publishable contributions.
Explore publications →How to join the courses.
Both courses are open to enrolled master’s students at Babeș-Bolyai University, with conditions varying by host programme. Visiting and Erasmus students are welcome subject to standard FIF procedures.
Leadership and Communication in International Organizations
Both courses are part of the LCOI master’s curriculum. HMR4312 is a compulsory fundamental discipline taken in Year II, Semester 3. HMR4229 is available as an optional course within Optional Package 3 of Year II, Semester 4.
HMR4229 Year II · Sem 4 · Optional · 6 ECTS
Erasmus & visiting students · contact coordinator
Questions about the courses?
Get in touch.
For curriculum questions, recognition of credits for Erasmus students, or invitations to guest lectures and joint sessions, contact the module coordinator directly. Replies usually within 48 hours during the academic semester.
and Contemporary History · DSIIC
Faculty of History and Philosophy
Babeș-Bolyai University · Cluj-Napoca