The literature on populism has long been plagued by difficulties in defining exactly what the term means. Although frequently used by authors, historians, the term is exceptionally vague and refers in different contexts to a variety of phenomena.
Pop...
The literature on populism has long been plagued by difficulties in defining exactly what the term means. Although frequently used by authors, historians, the term is exceptionally vague and refers in different contexts to a variety of phenomena.
Populism, understood as an appeal to 'the people' against both the established structure of power and the dominant ideas and values. So populism has been a tool of progressive, of reactionaries, of democrats, of the left and the right.
During the past several years, right-wing populist parties have made impressive electoral gains in a growing number of West European countries. Their dramatic surge to political prominence has obscured the fact that these parties hardly form a homogeneous party group.
The French experience of right-wing populism is embodied in the success of the Front National(FNF), which has become a symbol for the far right in Europe generally. And another prominent figure of this is Jorg Haider in Austria. They are radical in their rejection of the established socio-cultural and socio-political system and their advocacy of individual achievement, a free market, and a drastic reduction of the role of the state. And they are right-wing; first, in their rejection of individual and social equality and or political projects that seek to achieve it; second, in their opposition to the social integration of marginalized groups; third, in their appeal to xenophobia.
Why is the right-wing successful in some established democratic countries and not in others? Most studies of right-wing parties in Western Europe agree that these parties have levels of immigrants and increases in unemployment throughout Europe. The variation in electoral support for right-wing parties in France and Austria is the focus of my dissertation.
My analysis indicates that economic crises (unemployment, immigrants in a country) and resentments, political alienations are related to the vote for the right-wing. And they are a reflection and expression of new political conflicts created by the transition to post-industrial capitalism.
At its root, populism, as a set of ideas, has a fundamental ambivalence about politics, especially representative politics. Politics is messy and corrupting, and involvement comes only under extreme circumstances. In this sense, populism seeks to avoid habitual their reluctance, populists engage in politics when they perceive crises.
While populism is a negative reaction to representative politics, it does have a more positive side. Populism tends to identify itself with an idealized version of its chosen people, and to locate them in a similarly idealized landscape.
So my conclusion will be that instead of being a symptom of 'backwardness' that might be outgrown, populism is a shadow cast by democracy itself.