The Populist Revolt against Globalisation

Abstract

A tormented wave of anti-establishment populism is haunting Europe. Populist parties have managed to enter the political centre stage. This is partly the result of the breakthrough of former extremeright or far right parties to the ‘regular right’ part of the political spectrum and of the drift to the right in the European political discourse concerning issues of immigration, Islam and the concept of the multicultural society after nine-eleven. In Europe, populism not only comes from the right, but from the anti-liberal protectionist left wing as well. In this essay, it will be argued that in Europe the populist wave points to a deeper rooted crisis of trust and representation in the political and societal system at large.