Two security officers walk by flags of EU nations prior to an EU summit in Brussels on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. EU heads of state and government meet Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels for the first time since Britain voted to leave the European Union, throwing British and European politics into disarray. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Πριν από λίγες ημέρες, στη γραφική Κοΐμπρα της Πορτογαλίας οι υπουργοί Ευρωπαϊκών Υποθέσεων της Ε.Ε. επιδόθηκαν σε ασκήσεις μελλοντολογίας. Σκοπός τους ήταν να προβλέψουν προς τα που πηγαίνουν τα πράγματα στην Ευρώπη και τον κόσμο. Όπως όμως συνηθίζεται σε τέτοιες περιπτώσεις, στο τέλος δημιούργησαν έναν ακόμη γραφειοκρατικό μηχανισμό, το Πανευρωπαϊκό Δίκτυο Προβλέψεων (EU Foresight Network). Προφανώς, η Ευρώπη αλλάζει όπως αλλάζει και ο κόσμος ολόκληρος. Μόνο που οι προβλέψεις για το μέλλον δεν είναι εύκολη υπόθεση, ιδίως για όσους αγνοούν τις δυναμικές διεργασίες που έχουν ξεκινήσει στο παρελθόν και οι οποίες πρόκειται να καθορίσουν τις μελλοντικές εξελίξεις. Να κάποιες από τις κυριότερες διεργασίες που το Δίκτυο θα έπρεπε να έχει υπόψιν.
Why do we need another book about populism? Given the mountain of commentary on the topic since the “populist explosion” of 2016, this is a reasonable question to ask. Takis Pappas agrees and captures the problem well when he argues that our problem with the concept of populism is “ontological.” We do not have a clear view of what it is that we are describing or talking about; thus we need to start from first principles to provide a satisfactory answer to the question.
Thus begins a thoughtful and engaging discussion. Pappas takes up the methodological challenge of trying to find an ontological basis for the concept of populism with great vigor, with erudition and insight gleaned not only from deep familiarization with the key texts on populism but also from a panoptic comparative approach that takes in data in an impressive global sweep.
The universe of political parties is one of immense complexity. To make it comprehensible, one has to divide its countless units into a relatively small number of specific party types and subtypes that are well distinguished from each other. This requires that each type is defined minimally, that is to say, in a way that includes only its core characteristics, or properties. Ideally, at any given moment no two party types should fit under the same definition. And each definition should point to specific, real-life political parties that are out there in the world. Here is, then, my original attempt to produce a typology of the macrocosm of political parties that is useful for political scientists and practitioners of politics alike. Meanwhile, spotting the populists is now being made easy. Cat-dogs no more.
Circa 1990, nearly all major parties in Europe belonged to the liberal type. Fast forward through the decades that followed since to our own day, and this isn’t the case any more. Liberal parties are currently in decline while other party types, such as populist and nativist parties, have emerged strong in several nations across the continent. How did that happen and what are the main consequences of such transformations? This essay and the interactive infographic that accompanies it explain.
The content of this blog has appeared in the form of policy brief published by the European Liberal Forum in May 2021.
stating THE ISSue
For a time, post-war European politics was dominated by the liberal type of party. These broadly liberal parties were who originally envisaged the idea of a united Europe and subsequently carried the torch for the advancement of open society in a progressively integrated Europe under rule of law. Over many decades, Europe’s party systems operated as liberal political cartels in which the major parties competed for power against each other, largely unchallenged by other party types. Fast forward to the present day, and the talk around town is about the decline of the formerly established liberal parties, the proliferation of new populist ones, and, ominously enough, the rise of various other so-called anti-system parties—leading to democratic backsliding and, potentially, the disintegration of the European Union. Which part of this narrative corresponds to empirical reality, and which is just hype and headlines? More to the point: What is the current picture of Europe’s party politics? And what is the outlook for the future at EU level?
