What’s happening in global politics? As if overnight, many Democrats revolted and passionately backed a socialist named Bernie Sanders; the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union; the vituperative billionaire Donald Trump became the presidential nominee of the Republican party; and a slew of rebellious parties continued to win elections in Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Austria, and Greece.
John B. Judis, one of America’s most respected political analysts, tells us why we need to learn about the populist movement that began in the United States in the 1890s, the politics of which have recurred on both sides of the Atlantic ever since. Populism, on both the right and the left, champions the people against an establishment, based on issues – globalization, free trade, immigration – on which there has been a strong elite consensus, but also a strong mass discontent that is now breaking out into the open.
The Populist Explosion is essential listening for our times as we grapple to understand the political forces at work here and in Europe.
recommended for those who are ready to move beyond condescending … With the recent tense US elections, many labels describing opponents have been applied to both Democrats and Republicans without really understanding the underlying motivations driving the shift by voters to oppose establishment candidates, both within the US and in the EU. This refreshing overview provides helpful context of historical populist movements, and how we might see the new situations playing out around the world today. Thought-provoking read, recommended for those who are ready to…
A book providing time well spent understanding an important movement tjroughout the West With “populism”–whatever that is–becoming one of the words used to describe or denigrate political movements of all sorts, this quite readable book provides lots of good Western background on the movements, right and left, which proclaim to be, or are accused of being, “populist.” It was apparently written during the Trump-Clinton campaign, which, overall, seemed to me to make it even more useful.Â
Is Donald Trump a populists — or a fascist? The unexpected emergence of Donald Trump as a major-party candidate for the White House has triggered a great deal of punditry about how the Republican Party managed to put forward such a bigoted and ignorant champion. Speculation has swirled around the nature of the political forces he represents. Some observers insist he, though home-grown, bears more resemblance to Benito Mussolini than to any democratic political leader. Others think of Trump’s candidacy as populist; they describe him…