According to famed anthropologist Arjun Appadurai, the central question of our times is whether we’re witnessing the worldwide rejection of liberal democracy and its replacement by some sort of populist…
Populist parties like France’s Front National typically stress traditional family values. So is it possible for them to appeal to traditional leftist voters like single women and the queer community?
UK voters delivered a devastating blow to the prime minister, who combined a populist message with her party’s traditional economic policies. She may now face a power struggle.
Populist politics would appear to have left deliberative democracy by the wayside, but innovations that engage citizens in reasoned decision-making have much to offer.
Even if populist movements have been turned back in a few European elections, populism is not going to disappear. The EU needs a strategy to contain it.
Bill Hare, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Like president George W. Bush before him, Donald Trump made the announcement from the White House Rose Garden, showing that Republican governments have failed to learn past lessons.
Macron’s win showed France is internationalist, outward looking, pro-EU and free market-oriented; Le Pen’s rise revealed that it’s also nationalist, protectionist, anti-EU and suspicious of outsiders.
Both Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron have gained from the very deep disaffection of the French electorate with its traditional political representatives.
A survey shows that candidates who exploited populism in one way or the other during the first round of the French presidential election captured about half of the vote.