Book
Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Natasha Lindstaedt, and Erica Frantz
Chapter
7. Challenges to the Dominant Ideologies
Robert Garner
This chapter examines a range of contemporary ideologies which challenge the traditional ones identified in ~Chapter 5. They differ from traditional ideologies in a number of ways. They are, first, less optimistic about the ability of ideologies to construct an overarching explanation of the world, not surprisingly since they emerged in the aftermath of the catastrophic impact of some traditional ideologies. They also respect difference and variety. This is a product of social and economic change which has eroded the ‘Fordist’ economy, brought into being a number of powerful identity groups based on gender, culture, and ethnicity, and raised question marks over the environmental sustainability of current industrial practices. Two modern political currents – postmodernism and populism – are considered and it is questioned whether they can be properly described as ideologies. The chapter then considers a number of contemporary ideologies such as feminism, environmentalism, multiculturalism, and religious fundamentalism.
Chapter
15. The Rise of Anti-Establishment Parties
Mara Morini
This chapter examines the rise of radical right-wing nationalist parties and radical anti-globalization, anti-austerity left-wing parties in Europe. Anti-establishment parties are not new; they have always been a feature of European politics. The ground was not seeded for their development and expansion, however, until social and cultural changes that began in the 1960s combined with the economic and migration crises of the 2000s. The chapter discusses historic anti-establishment parties and the new parties that have emerged over the last two decades. It discusses the nature of anti-establishment parties and describes contemporary radical-left and extreme-right parties. The label of ‘populism’ as applied to these parties is analysed. Using a comparative approach, the chapter examines why there has been a growth of support for anti-establishment parties and attitudes in the last decades, focusing on the development of a ‘populist moment’ in contemporary representative democracies.
Chapter
7. Democracy and the Populist Challenge
Christopher Lord
This chapter starts by asking a key question: how far is populism inside and outside the European Union (EU) a challenge to the EU as an international actor? The chapter argues that the democratic legitimacy of the Union’s external powers and behaviours depend on assumptions about its own internal political order and international order that are especially vulnerable to populism. The chapter highlights four populist threats to democratic politics. It then moves on to talk about the standards of democratic legitimacy that the EU will need to satisfy where it acts internationally. It then argues that the forms of democratic politics threatened by populism are precisely those important to the EU and to the international roles available to it.
Chapter
19. Brazil’s rise and fall in world politics
Miriam Gomes Saraiva, Feliciano De Sá Guimarães, and Irma Dutra Gomes De Oliveira E Silva
This chapter analyzes Brazil’s rise and fall as an emerging global power and regional leader over the past twenty years. The chapter begins by debating foreign policy’s historical role in portraying Brazil as a country destined to have a place among great powers. It then evaluates how the literature on Brazilian foreign policy assesses the country’s rise and fall in global and regional dimensions in recent decades. Next, the chapter traces Brazil’s rise initiated during Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s administration and the construction of leadership in South America. Then, it analyzes the decline in leadership since the end of Lula da Silva’s first government and Dilma’s administration due to economic and political crises experienced in the domestic and international scenarios. Finally, the chapter discusses the 2020s under the government of Jair Bolsonaro, when Brazil abandons any regional leadership ambitions or great power status. Brazil’s rise and fall elucidate a dilemma typical to emerging powers seeking more significant external influence: building leadership with few resources and domestic instability.
Chapter
18. Populism and Its Challenges to Democracy
Paolo Graziano
Populism has been one of the most researched topics of the past decade. At the end of 2010 a Google Scholar search with the keyword ‘populism’ would register about 100,000 entries. In 2023 the same search would yield over 500,000 results, of which 400,000 would mention Europe. This chapter starts by introducing the concept of populism, presenting and discussing its various definitions. It maps the populist parties active in European countries, illustrates the reasons of their success, examines populist parties in government, and looks in more detail at the cases of Hungary and Poland, where populist parties in power are posing serious threats to democratic rule. The chapter concludes with some remarks on the future of populism and populist parties in European countries
Chapter
12. The Big Question: World Order or World Chaos?
This final chapter addresses a really big question: are international relations heading towards order or chaos? To answer this question, it interrogates the different IR theories presented in previous chapters. An initial section provides a conceptual map, based on a review of different understandings of the concept of world order. The chapter proceeds by discussing the effect of the rise of authoritarian power such as China, new challenges in established democracies, fragile states in the Global South, and the governance provided by international institutions. The chapter ends by arguing that the glass is at the same time half-full and half-empty: the world faces new and formidable challenges and we are very far from meeting current aspirations for world order; at the same time, global relations are much more ordered than they used to be just a few generations ago—and things are far better than many pessimists claim.
Chapter
13. The Rise of Populism and Its Impact on Democracy
This chapter studies the rise of populism and its impact on democracy. Populism is an ideology that separates society into two homogeneous and antagonistic groups: ‘the pure people’ and ‘the corrupt elite’. Moreover, populism makes moral distinction between these groups; it seeks to valorise and legitimize the people while denigrating the elite. The chapter then describes the key attributes of populist leaders and their supporters. Although not inherently anti-democratic, populism does run counter to the liberal democratic ideal that emphasizes the protection of rights. Populists look to place the needs of the majority or native group ahead of individual liberties and needs. Finally, the chapter considers the underlying drivers of the rise of contemporary populism. These drivers fall into three broad categories: economic, including globalization and the economic stasis and inequality that has occurred along with it; the declining importance of political parties; and a cultural backlash against progressive values.
Chapter
11. The EU in Crisis (2009–19)
This chapter examines the crises that dominated the period after the Lisbon Treaty was adopted in 2009: first, the eurozone crisis that began in 2009 and threatened the existence of the single currency; second, the refugee crisis that unfolded from 2015 as large numbers of refugees fled an intensifying war in Syria and attempted perilous crossings of the Mediterranean Sea; third, Britain’s decision to leave the EU, which followed a referendum on membership in 2016; and finally, the challenge of populist politics in the EU, with reference to the emergence of governments led by or including populist parties in Hungary, Poland, and Italy. The chapter then considers other developments during this period, including elections to the European Parliament (EP) in 2014 and 2019, a further enlargement to include Croatia in 2013, and the launch of the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy. It also looks at the United Kingdom’s adoption of a series of measures that raised doubts about its future relationship with the EU.
Chapter
16. Civil Society, Interest Groups, and Populism
This chapter explores the role of civil society, interest groups, and populism in politics. It first considers the concept of ‘civil society’ and how it came to be associated with the protests that brought down communist regimes in Eastern Europe, along with its role in the Arab Spring. It then looks at interest groups as a major component of civil society, the rise of corporatism, and the notion of ‘infrapolitics’ or politics from below. It also discusses the growing phenomenon of populism as a way of enhancing the status and position of previously neglected groups in democracies as well as a challenge to liberal democracies. A case study on populism online involving Beppe Grillo and the Five star Movement is presented. The chapter suggests that populist politicians make use of the media to forge a direct relationship with their supporters.
Chapter
11. Ideologies of Globalism, Populism, and Economic Nationalism
Harmes Adam
The issues at the core of the global political economy are complex and multidimensional, but must be dealt with in a clear and decisive way. This work examines how political ideologies can help to explain the contemporary politics of globalisation, anti-globalisation, and global governance including new forms of populism and economic nationalism. It outlines the main ideologies of international relations and economic policy including liberal internationalism, progressivism, neoliberalism, populist conservatism and, to a lesser extent, realism and neoconservatism. It also shows how these ideologies influenced the preferences of political actors and contributed to a globalisation/anti-globalisation sequence that has been strongly consistent across Anglo-American countries.
Book
Peter Ferdinand, Robert Garner, and Stephanie Lawson
Politics offers an introduction to political studies. It combines accessibility and an analytical approach, encouraging critical study and engaged debate. Alongside coverage of concepts, approaches, and ideologies, the text features chapters on all crucial elements of political studies, from institutions and states to security, political economy, civil society and the media, making it an ideal text for a broad range of modules. Current debates and key developments in contemporary politics are taken into account, with coverage of the rise of populism, Brexit, and the presidency of Donald Trump, as well as a broad range of international case studies and examples.
Chapter
20. The Stability of EU Policy-Making in a Turbulent World
Mark A. Pollack, Christilla Roederer-Rynning, and Alasdair R. Young
This chapter examines trends in European Union policy-making during times of multiple, overlapping challenges. It first considers the main trends in EU policy-making that emerge from policy case studies, including experimentation with new modes of policy-making, often in conjunction with more established modes, leading to hybridization; renegotiation of the role of the member states (and their domestic institutions) in the EU policy process; and erosion of traditional boundaries between internal and external policies. The chapter proceeds by discussing the issue of national governance as well as the interaction between European and global governance. Finally, it explores how the EU has responded to the challenges of Brexit, the politicization of the Union, geopolitical upheaval, and the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chapter
5. From the end of the cold war to a new world dis-order?
Michael Cox
This chapter provides a broad overview of the international system between the end of the cold war—when many claimed that liberalism and the West had triumphed—through to the second decade of the twenty-first century, when the West itself and the liberal economic order it had hitherto promoted appeared to be coming under increased pressure from political forces at home and new challenges abroad. But before turning to the present, the chapter looks at some of the key developments since 1989—including the Clinton presidency, the George W. Bush administration's foreign policy following the attacks of 9/11, the 2008 financial crash, the crisis in Europe, the transitions taking place in the global South, the origins of the upheavals now reshaping the Middle East, the political shift from Barack Obama to Donald Trump, the emergence of Asia, and the rise of China. The chapter then concludes by examining two big questions: first, is power now shifting away from the West, and second, to what extent does the current wave of populism in the West threaten globalization and the liberal order?
