Description
Book SynopsisOver the early 21st century, democracy worldwide has deteriorated significantly. At the same time, new populist forces have appeared that challenge democracies through legal reforms. The stark contrast between Eastern and Western Europe in this respect is the focus of this collection of essays.
The authors consider the 2008-2012 economic crisis to be at the root of the success of the populist parties and the rise of cultural backlash against liberal values. In turn, European governments’ responses to the crisis—mainly austerity measures demanded by IMF and the EU— help explain desenchantment with the European Union. These policies made the wider public feel that they were being left out of politics, and populist parties promised to return power to them.
The contributors argue that polarization of the electorate can set in motion a radicalization that strengthens authoritarians at the expense of democrats. They also demonstrate that Eastern and Western Europe differ in their attitudes to the decline in quality of democracy. The studies consider how satisfied people are with the political changes they witness, and argue that seemingly more authoritarian attitudes in the East explain why people feel more satisfied with a defective democracy that empowers the populist-authoritarian political actors that they support.
Table of ContentsIntroduction - Carlos García Rivero
Part 1. Populism in Europe. Concept and context
Chapter 1. The Quality of Democracy in Europe – Enrique Clari & Carlos García-Rivero
Chapter 2. The Concept of Populism and Populist Democracy – Ángel Rivero
Chapter 3. Mapping Populist Political Parties in Europe – Enrique Clari
Chapter 4. On the Persistence of Radical-Right-Wing Populism in Europe: The Role of Grievances and Emotions – Hans-Georg Betz
Part 2. Political Participation under Populism. Trends and Limits
Chapter 5. The Limits of Democratic Competition. Evidence of the Asymmetrical Impact of Polarization on Europeans Political Attitudes and Behaviour – Enrique Clari and Carlos García-Rivero
Chapter 6. Populist’s Voters’ Profiles in Different Electoral Calls. Lessons from Spain – Javier Antón-Merino, Sergio Pérez-Castaños and Marta Méndez-Juez
Chapter 7. Ideological Congruence in the Extreme Right in Europe. Germany, Poland and Sweden in Comparative Perspective – Carlos García-Rivero and Hennie Kotzè
Chapter 8. Internal Sanctions for the Rule of Law Breaches Under Art.7 TEU: Why is the EU Dragging its Feet? – Clara Portela and Ruth Ferrero
Part 3. Populist Parties in Different European regions
Chapter 9. Populism in Western vs Eastern Europe – José Rama and Andrés Santana
Chapter 10. Populism in Southern Europe – Belén Fernández and Ángel Valencia
Chapter 11. Populism in the Nordic countries – Eirikur Bergmann
Conclusions. What Lies Ahead – Carlos García-Rivero
About the Contributors
Index
