CIDOB Report nº 1 Abril 2017
Liberal democracies are in a fragile state. Simplistic populist messages of us vs. them with often-xenophobic undertones and attempts to undermine the legitimacy of democratic institutions can count on a receptive audience and a transformed (social) media landscape in Europe. In some countries such as France and Austria populist parties have moved beyond the fringe and have run as serious contenders in nationwide elections, in Hungary and Poland they actually govern. A considerable part of the European population could imagine living in authoritarian systems. They find some aspects of such governance appealing, such as tight surveillance, compromised individual liberties, and uniform structures of society, and look admiringly for current and historical role models. For some this echoes the 1930s, when fascism in Europe was on the rise and received considerable support from sympathisers even within developed democracies, such as the British Union of Fascist of Oswald Mosley or Charles Lindberg, who played an influential role in the isolationist America First Committee in the USA. Nonetheless, to compare today’s populists with yesterday’s fascists is a stretch, though. One might argue that it is even slanderous, given their still limited role, more benign attitudes and some legitimate concerns they articulate. Still, the challenges for liberal democracies are real and are at the heart of the analysis in this collaborative volume by researchers from CIDOB and other think tanks and institutions.
INTRODUCTION
Eckart Woertz
LET THE PEOPLE RULE! DEFINITIONS AND THEORIES OF POPULISM
Diego Muro
THE TRANSNATIONAL DIFFUSION OF POPULISM
John Slocum
POPULISM AND ITS IMPACT ON MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS AND ECONOMIC TRADE
Jordi Bacaria
POPULISM “MADE IN THE EU”
Carme Colomina
“TROUBLE IN PARADISE”: WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NETHERLANDS?
Blanca Garcés-Mascareñas
POPULISM IN FRANCE: TOWARDS NORMALISATION?
Moussa Bourekba
GERMANY: POPULIST PRESSURES ON “MUTTI” MERKEL
Eckart Woertz
THE ROOTS OF POPULISM IN POLAND: UNSUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND CULTURAL BACKLASH
Dominik Owczarek
HUNGARY: POPULISM OR POLITICS?
Botond Feledy
PUTIN: EURO-ATLANTIC POPULIST ICON
Nicolás de Pedro
POPULISM IN SWEDEN: SOCIOECONOMIC POLARISATION IN THE MODEL SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC STATE
Khali El-Ahmad
SETTING THE BREXIT AGENDA: POPULISM AND UKIP IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Pol Morillas
POPULISM IN ITALY: THE CASE OF THE FIVE STAR MOVEMENT
Elena Dal Zotto
THE FACES OF POPULISM IN POST-COMMUNIST ROMANIA
Dragoş Dragoman and Camil Ungureanu
