Written in 2018 for a University of Colorado course.
What is the solution to populism? Is it even a problem that needs a solution? Populism, or nationalism, as it is sometimes called, is a result of a rapidly changing political climate. Scholars and journalists often attribute the rise of modern nationalism or populism to the huge influx of immigration that is occurring all over the world. We have seen the rise of these populist parties mostly in Europe and the United States over the last ten years or so, although they seem to be popping up all over the globe. Populist political parties have been around for decades but until recently, they saw very little success. But as certain populist leaders have been successful, like Donald Trump, other leaders see a path to success that was not accessible before recently.
Populism and nationalism have been around for decades but have been disregarded as too radical or extreme for most of modern politics. However, lately these parties are seeing the highest number of votes than they ever have. Why?
A growing immigrant population is a key factor in the success of far-right populist parties. Across Europe, a Pew research poll found that 49% of the European population believes that refugees from countries like Syria and Iraq are a threat to their country (Stokes). This Islamophobia is “driving the parties of the right and the left further apart than ever before,” but the “fear” is more prevalent among the right. Additionally, economic strife, inequality, and “perceived corruption or non-representativeness” also make the ideals of these parties more salient than they ever have been in the past (Pazzanese). We have all heard the accusation, especially in the United States, that immigrants “steal” jobs from hardworking Americans. Although this has largely been disproven, immigrants often fill roles that Americans don’t want to do or want more pay for, the animosity is still present. There is also the common fear that immigrants will bring crime and turmoil into a country. Certainly, the fear that a large influx of immigrants will be a strain on the economy and the infrastructure is a fear that should not be dismissed outright. A country cannot support an unlimited number of immigrants moving to a country, that will certainly cause problems within the country. Like stated above, these concerns are not limited to the far-right populist parties, it is rational to consider the implications that immigration will have on a country. But the concerns, the “fear,” are far stronger among populist parties and the people who support these parties look to leaders who will address their fears. However, a nationalist or populist response is not the answer. These parties’ platforms are often characterized by the support of anti-immigrant policies such as a border wall. But unfortunately, with each terrorist incident, more fuel is added to the fire. It “strengthens their argument, and adds to the base of support” and they look for leadership that will address their fears (Stokes).
It is easy to dismiss these beliefs as radical if you do not identify with them. However, I believe that these concerns that populists have are not without merit, they are just often misplaced. When your way of life is threatened, the common response is not always to embrace that change but to fight to maintain it, and that is what the people who support populist or nationalist groups are doing. They like how things are and do not want to see too much change too fast. This response is not automatically wrong, and to assume so is naïve. We see this response happen every time new technology is introduced, for example. However, what is different here is that there are much larger repercussions that involve the lives of other people. Since populism and nationalism have gained ground in the United States, and the rest of the world, for that matter, there have an increased number of violent incidents against Muslims in particular, perhaps because people who support populist leaders feel that the animosity they feel is now more mainstream and justified. Our own president in the United States even retweeted a video from the United Kingdom of a Muslim person being attacked by a British nationalist group. The support and success of these parties have consequences in the countries that they are successful in but also globally. Trump has threatened foreign relations by pulling out of trade deals in the name of putting “America first”, climate agreements, and abandoning over 70 years of foreign policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. This kind of “ethno-nationalism” threatens the security and unity that the world has enjoyed until now (Pazzanese). The rise of populist movements like Brexit in the United Kingdom also threatens the stability of the European Union. Trump praised Brexit and several other populist leaders in Europe have pledged to hold referendums like the United Kingdom’s to decide if their country is to stay in the EU if they win. These decisions would undoubtedly jeopardize the economic stability of EU members and threaten the stability of the rest of the world.
Another equally important consequence of the rise of populism and nationalism is the fate of democracy. Liberal democracy certainly has its shortcomings but for a long time we have still accepted it as the best option. A common theme that seems to appear when talking about populism and nationalism is that the people who support these parties seem to feel neglected by their government and their leaders. The leaders of the parties often create a dichotomy, one of ‘the people’ vs. ‘the establishment,’ or the elite (Judis). They accuse the elite of favoring a third party that is not the people, often immigrants, which creates a strong anti-immigrant sentiment (Judis). And the people who have felt as though they are forgotten by their government relate to this and support them. Perhaps one of the ills of democracy is that larger parties cannot possibly cater to their entire constituency which leads to a moderate party platform. This does end up working for a lot of people, because most people are more moderate in their political views. But it isolates the far-left and the far-right groups on the fringe who feel more strongly about certain issues. In order for a party to win seats in their respective legislative bodies, they must get the largest number of votes, which usually come from the large moderate population. This isn’t a problem in all countries, but in the ones where their more right or left leaning parties do not get representation, it can cause frustration for those whose views are not represented in their government. Many say that the rise of populism is a symptom of a “sick” democracy. Others say that populism is a solution to a failing democracy (Champion). I am inclined to lean towards the former. The fact that people are seeking representation among parties that are so radical in some cases is a signal that they feel there is nowhere else to turn, that something is wrong with the current system of representative government. There is obvious discontent with the current government and its responsiveness to people of all party affiliations, even those who support populism and nationalism. Populist parties may not be winning elections but their rising popularity and success is still something that needs to be addressed by politicians or frustration and discontent will only continue to escalate. For Ana Swanson of The Washington Post, this means making globalization work for more people and making sure people don’t feel like their leaders care more about immigrants than they do about their constituents (Swanson). Since we have determined that populism and nationalism are problems, what are their solutions?
To reiterate, it is important for politicians and leaders of large, moderate parties to recognize the discontent among their constituency. To not do so would surely exacerbate the problem and cause tension between the native-born, often white, population and the immigrants of the country. As long as people feel that their needs are not being met and their concerns are not being addressed, it is likely that their actions will continue to escalate. Some believe that a solution cannot be reached when it comes to a multi-national state (Ghanem). Ghanem discusses the conflict between Israel and Palestine, which is certainly a unique situation, but the theme remains the same as when discussing conflict between a native population and a large group of immigrants. The Israel-Palestine conflict may be one that requires a more robust plan of action in order to solve it, but as for the rest of the world, I believe that there is a solution to the growing popularity of nationalism and populism across the globe.
We have determined large-scale migration to be a factor contributing to the increase in popularity of populist and nationalist parties in the EU and in other countries across the globe. In order to come up with solutions to the problem of populism, I think it is important to look at the factors that are causing this migration in the first place. Certainly internal conflict and civil war, as we have seen in Syria are partially to blame, but it is also important to note that the actions of the United States military and other global superpowers are also causing militarized conflict within countries and forcing people to seek refugee status in other countries. For many years, the United States has assumed the role of the world’s policeman, taking it upon themselves to overthrow governments which they disagreed ideologically with. In Iraq, for example, the United States military was instrumental in the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime. This may have been a good decision at the time because Hussein was no doubt a terrible leader. However, the United States overthrew a government and then left a power vacuum to be filled without offering any assistance to the Iraqi people, who are still suffering to this day. Some have undoubtedly left Iraq in fear of further persecution to other countries surrounding theirs. If the United States military was not so involved in the affairs of other countries’ governments, there might be less turmoil and less immigration. That is not to say that things won’t still go wrong in countries with corrupt governments, but it is not the responsibility of the United States to take it upon themselves to decide which governments get to stay and which need to be overthrown. Interestingly enough, a more isolationist foreign policy strategy is often part of a populist or nationalist platform. However, when referring to isolationism in these contexts, they often talk about isolationism in reference to trade deals and alliances and not military affairs. In order to help appease the supporters of nationalist and populist parties, it might be wise for politicians to take a page from their book and support a more isolationist foreign policy strategy in terms of the military. Less conflict caused by the United States would result in less disruption in other countries and therefore less people fleeing their countries looking for refugee status.
Other solutions that have been proposed are to actively promote assimilation of immigrants or to redraw borders and create “homogenous nation states,” which logistically is not very realistic (Marchi). It may not be the responsibility of immigrants to assimilate to the culture in which they are moving to, but I do agree that an effort by immigrants to embrace their new country would likely ease some tension rather than trying to completely maintain their own.
Nationalism and populism seem to appear in waves over the course of history. The parties that champion nationalist or populist views see spikes in support followed by long periods in which they have a drought of support. It may be that the recent popularity of nationalism and populism will correct itself but I don’t believe that we should wait for that to happen. Politicians and even the people of a country should be proactive in fighting nationalism and populism in order to protect those who are susceptible to suffer under its power. It may be hard to turn our backs on those who support nationalist parties because we view them as racist, but it is important to acknowledge their fears and concerns and remember that they are citizens too and they deserve to be heard. We are all responsible for the future of government in our own countries.
Works Cited
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Washington Post, WP Company, 8 Dec. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/business/is-the-rise-of-populism-good-or-bad-for-democracy-quicktake/2017/12/11/d1d10102-dc39-11e7-a241-0848315642d0_story.html?utm_term=.f5ecde79be3b.
Hill, Jenny. “Germany's rising tide of populism.” BBC News, BBC, 31 Jan. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38776251.
Ghanem, As’ad. “The Bi-National State Solution.” Israel Studies, vol. 14, no. 2, 2009, pp. 120–
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Judis, John B. “Us v Them: the birth of populism.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 13
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Academia, Academia , www.academia.edu/3680544/A_glance_to_Nationalism_some_reflections_and_solutions_in_Balkans.
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Pazzanese, Christina. “In Europe, nationalism rising.” Harvard Gazette, Harvard University, 1 Mar. 2017, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/02/in-europe-nationalisms-rising/.
Stokes, Bruce. “The Immigration Crisis Is Tearing Europe Apart.” Foreign Policy, Foreign
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Swanson, Ana. “The rise of populism shouldn't have surprised anyone.” The Washington Post,
WP Company, 10 Aug. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/10/the-rise-of-populism-shouldnt-have-surprised-anyone/?utm_term=.db3feaac0bde.
Watson, Ivan, and Lauren Said-Moorhouse. “Sweden: Riots erupt in Stockholm neighborhood.”
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