The Threat of Populism to Democracy

Updated 24 November 2023

Downloads 60

This sample was provided by a student, not a professional writer. Anyone has access to our essays, so likely it was already used by other students. Do not take a risk and order a custom paper from an expert.

Populism is usually invoked in the press to illustrate new political developments, mostly with a negative connotation. However, some researchers see populism more positively. For instance, they believe that it is a form of direct democracy. However, others state that it is an indication of critical social predicaments which should be eradicated. Basically, in the contemporary society, democracies suffer from challenges which are hard to address, and this shows why populism is not the solution[1]. “The rise of European populism and the collapse of the center-left” article by Galston 2018 and “why people never see populism coming: The underrepresented aren’t heard until they vote with a bang” by Maclean are two articles which illustrate different opinions concerning populism[2]. In essence, populism is not a threat to the democratic ideals as Galston states in his article, but Maclean’s report indicates that populism is a threat to the democratic ideals which does not imply to the contemporary world.

In the European political advancement, Galston argues that the rise of populism is the most critical development, especially in the contemporary world. Since the end of the World War, duopoly has engulfed in the political systems of the nation and the party systems have changed due to populism. Also, the article indicates that the rise of populism has also increased Russian influence in the whole of Europe. As such, there has been a democracy that many people did not expect in the nation. They participate in the political activities which are aimed at improving the state of the country. Also, there is freedom, and every person has the right to do things according to the constitution instead of what many other dictatorial governments may dictate.

Additionally, in the article, “why people never see populism coming: The underrepresented aren’t heard until they vote with a bang” by Maclean the material is not too convincing since the topic of populism is not adequately addressed[3]. Therefore, there are no democratic ideals as expected. For instance, in Toronto, the Ontario’s new premier had taken a step to dismantle the trade system of the town. Therefore, business was at risk ad most of them even collapsed[4]. A statement which was released indicates that the government had revoked the regulations that control the carbon pricing strategy, and the nation would be winding up all the green plans. As such, there was no practice of populism that which would encourage a free business and promote economic developments.

In the olden days, people believed that populism reflected only on the financial anguish enhanced by the Great Recession. However, as the understanding of the people increased, many realized that the implementation of populism improved the economic recovery of the nation since there was a lot of democracy. There was the creation of many industries and employment increased since there were cultural liberalization and national sovereignty among the people. It was a strategy which enhanced the democratic ideals of the nation as compared to other parts of the world.

“Why people never see populism coming: The underrepresented aren’t heard until they vote with a bang” by Maclean is not convincing that populism is a threat to the democratic ideals since the government itself does not promote the act of democracy. However, in the article “Doug Ford starts to dismantle Ontario’s cap-and-trade program” by Paola Loriggio the government shows the interest in withdrawing from the trade systems[5]. Such undertakings are not aimed at promoting the financial progress of the nation, but to impede its business practices. Consequently, the article shows that populism is a threat to the democratic ideals which is not the case since it is a practice aimed at promoting business and equality among many people across the globe.

“The rise of European populism and the collapse of the center-left” article by Galston 2018 indicates that economic displacement is a threat to any nation. In most instances, when there is economic displacement, people are believed to use political means to safeguard themselves against the threatening advancements. However, if there is an implementation of populism, there is a lot of democracy and the government avoids economic displacement since people work toward the common goal of achieving the financial obligation of the nation[6]. The article is convincing since it indicates the developments witnessed in Europe through the use of populism.

Galston (2018) indicates that there were many issues which were reprimanded by the government in 2017 after the election. Populism was encouraged, and the elected Prime Minister Mark Rutte criticized immigrants who came to the nation to interfere with its national development. The immigrants did not want to adopt the social practices of the government, attacked women and underrate their values[7]. Populism encouraged respect for everyone despite an individual’s age or social class or race. People were supposed to live in harmony, assist one another and work towards improving the nation. Therefore, it was not a threat to democracy, but a strategy to enhance national development and cohesion.

After President Vladimir Putin embraced the ethno nationalism and religious nationalism, there were attractive populist movements which endured that democracy among the people despite their religious backgrounds prevailed. The campaign even raised the Russian movement throughout Europe. In his article, “the rise of European populism and the collapse of the center-left” 2018, Galston shows that there was a lot of patriotism and national confidence liberal democracy and governance was encouraged[8]. People were free to do anything they believed was critical for the nation[9]. The article lays a clear and convincing idea that populism was not a threat to the democratic ideals but an approach to enhance national development. It was also ideally an approach implemented to ensure there was widespread support even though there was a lot of exhaustion of the personal liberties in most parts of the continent.

Basically, “The rise of European populism and the collapse of the center-left” article by Galston is a convincing article that populism encouraged democratic ideals. It did not act as a threat as it is indicated in most instances in “Why people never see populism coming: The underrepresented aren’t heard until they vote with a bang” by Maclean. In most instances, Galston indicates how people were liberal, and populism encouraged working towards achieving the same goals of the nation. Nationalism, religious practices and any other aspect that supported the development of the government was adopted. Citizens were encouraged to participate in any common activity of the nation. In some instances, Europe led in guiding people the financial management especially when there was Great Recession. People were encouraged to participate in their democratically legitimate activities. Therefore, it is evidence that populism helped the development of the nation and the people.

Bibliography

Galston A. William 2018 “The rise of European populism and the collapse of the center-left” https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/03/08/the-rise-of-european-populism-and-the-collapse-of-the-center-left/