Overview
Over 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.
Full Product Details
Author: Carlos García-Rivero
Publisher: Central European University Press
Imprint: Central European University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.70cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.556kg
ISBN: 9789633866399
ISBN 10: 9633866391
Pages: 286
Publication Date: 31 August 2023
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Reviews
"""This timely volume provides a comprehensive overview of populism in Europe. Anyone concerned about threats to democracy--and we all should be--will find the theoretical foundations and empirical cases discussed in this book insightful."" --Dr. Seraphine F. Maerz"
"""This timely volume provides a comprehensive overview of populism in Europe. Anyone concerned about threats to democracy--and we all should be--will find the theoretical foundations and empirical cases discussed in this book insightful."" --Dr. Seraphine F. Maerz"
Author Information
Carlos Garcia-Rivero is an associate professor in Political Science at Valencia University, Spain, and research associate at the Centre for International and Comparative Politics, at Stellenbosch University, South Africa; previously, he was a lecturer at Burgos University and Saint Louis University. His research has focused on political culture, democratization, and electoral behavior at both elite and mass levels, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and in Islamic parties and democracy in North Africa and Middle East.
