Rise Of National-Populists Across The World In Recent Years
With the election of Donald Trump as the President of USA, many countries from America to Europe have started witnessing the rise of populism again around the world.
Who is a Populist?
The word ‘populism’ is derived from the Latin word populous which means people in English. It espouses a government for the people or the masses. A populist is a member of the political party who claims to represent the common people. The term originated from a political party in United States which was formed in 1891 to represent the agrarian interests and to advocate free coinage of silver and governmental control on monopolies. In other words, a populist is person who believes in the rights, wisdom and virtues of the common people. It is a belief that the will of ordinary citizens should prevail over the privileged elite.
History of Rise of Populism
Glimpses of populism can be found throughout the history of mankind. Some of the well known populists were Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Tiberius Gracchus- all these people belonged to the Roman Empire and had bypassed the Roman Senate and appealed to the people directly. But for a deeper understanding of its origin, a country-based understanding can be developed.
Populism in Europe
In Europe, populism is believed to have grown from the period of Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, which was started by Martin Luther King and was continued by his followers John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli. At this time, various theocratic societies were created in which peasants were permitted to read the Bible themselves. During the German Peasants’ War (1524-1525) and the Munster Rebellion (1534-1535), attempts were made to create these societies. However, the movements failed with the restoration of old order by the princely armies with the lordship of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The same kind of populism was shown during the outbreak of the English Revolution in 1642-1651.
Particularly in Germany, a concept of Volkstum was introduced which propagated the notion of the essence of people that was lost during the Industrial Revolution. In fact, one of the infamous parties in history-the Nazi party mobilized a large number of middle class people through the concept of populism. In Italy, the Belusconi government which entered in the realm of politics in 1994 and ruled for almost ten years, is characterized as a populist rule.
Populism in Latin America
Populism has been a dominant feature of politics in Latin America, with Hugo Chavez as President of Venenzuela and Evo Morales as President of Bolivia, with their policies (like expenditure of oil revenue) all aimed at the benefit of the poor masses.
Populism in United States
Populism has played a very significant role in various movements in USA. One of the reasons for the American Revolution is the populist hatred for the royal government. The first idea of populism in party politics arrived with the formation of Populist Part in 1890s. This party mostly comprised of the Midwestern and Southern farmers and labour unions which denounced a system in which the fruits of their toil were enjoyed by a fortunate few. Populism was prominent both in the left wing and the right wing. Some of the early populist parties were the Greenback Party, the Progressive Party of 1912 led by Theodre Roosevelt, the Progressive Party of 1924 led by Robert M La Follette Sr. and Non Partisan League of right wing populist movement by Lynn Frazer.
What are the causes of Populist movements?
Two factors can be attributed to the growth of populist movements in history:
Economic inequality perspective
Due to the rise on knowledge economy, technological automation and the collapse of manufacturing industry, global flows of labour, goods and capital etc. have resulted in a rising economic insecurity and social deprivation among some classes of people. This caused a growing dissatisfaction among these classes, which led to their alienation the populist party’s approaches.
Cultural backlash
Many studies have shown that a surge in votes for populist parties is not only due to the economic phenomena but also due to the progressive cultural change that they face. With the increase in fields of study and higher education, various new concerns have come up amongst the people like environmental protection, human rights, gender inequality etc. Thus, there has been a rise in these particular groups which vehemently promote these ideas and accordingly show their political affiliation.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Populism?
Advantages
At first, populism appears to provide a very idealistic view of society where the interests of the left-out masses are addressed. It is argued by some of its followers like Chantal Mouffe and late Ernesto Laclau that populism constitutes the essence of democratic politics, which itself talks of government by the general will of the people. It brings the issues affecting a large number of masses, but benefit a privileged few, into the limelight. In other words, it is said to bring out the painful but the real problems of the society (like immigration).
Disadvantages
But this ideology has various difficulties too. Firstly, the populists deny the legitimacy of political opponents. So any individual from the masses who can keep a different view is disregarded as being with the elites. In other words, it leads to a very uncompromising and polarized political culture. Secondly, the ruling populist parties may try to undermine countervailing forces which give a slightly different opinion like that of the independent judges and opposition parties. The dark side of populism is evident from the tortures by Nazi party during holocaust.
Why has Populism returned again?
At this juncture, it is a very important question to be raised. Some call it the 2008 financial crisis in Wall Street and Washington, while some others blame it on the terrorist attacks on Brussels and France in late March 2016 as the reason for rise of populism in Europe. Most of the populist parties in Europe are anti-immigrant. Their pressure is being felt so heavily on the world population that German Chancellor has gone to the extent of entering in a deal with Turkey to slow down the influx of refugees in Europe and the Socialist Party of France also pulled in three regional candidates in elections to prevent a populist party led by Marine Le-Pen- The National Front party from winning the elections. These parties are also rising as a show of frustration towards the working of the European Union. From France, Germany to Netherlands and Austria, the populist parties of central and northern Europe has increasingly challenged the status quo by indicating an anti-immigration stance.
In USA too the anti-immigration stance has been clearly highlighted by Donald Trump’s policy that undocumented immigrants should self-deport from the country. His negative stand towards USA extending help to countries in the Arabian peninsula also indicated a shift from the status quo.
Conclusion
Populism can be described as an uprising at the time of failure of the existing regimes to effectively address the problems of the masses. They attack on the ways of dealing with the existing issues and instead propose their own reformative approach. The approach has several benefits and drawbacks, but nonetheless it has a strong influence on the existing regimes and masses. They are really prominent in some countries, whereas they are rising in other countries.
