populism
Why far-right populism won the Swedish election, but is making the right lose its credibilityAfter five weeks of complicated negotiations, on 18 October 2022 Sweden’s Parliament (Riksdagen) elected the most far-right government in the country’s history. The centre-right Moderates, along with their junior partners, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, depend on support from the far-right Sweden Democrats to govern. The Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) actually received more votes than any other party on the right, but didn’t ...
read more "Sweden’s four messy months of right-wing government"
read more "Sweden’s four messy months of right-wing government"
Event report on the launch of our new volume «The Crisis and Future of Democracy»How can the left mobilise in times like these? What lessons to draw from earlier protest movements? Those were the questions put to a panel of authors of the recently published volume “The Crisis and Future of Democracy”, published by the Brussels office of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung.
Is democracy in jeopardy?
Starting point of the discussion was a brief examination of the most important challenges to democracy today. David Bailey of ...
read more "What role for democracy in progressive mobilisation in Europe today?"
read more "What role for democracy in progressive mobilisation in Europe today?"
About the anthology
Democracy is in jeopardy. The rise of authoritarian populism, the polarisation of politics and the attacks on the foundations of liberal representative democracy leave little doubt about it. The fallout of the COVID-19 crisis has only reinforced these tendencies. Yet, we also see a revitalisation of radical demands for democratic renewal. Societies are once again acknowledging that inequality is hurting democracy. Calls for democratic regulation of key sectors are getting louder.
Demands for inclusion, equality and redistributive ...
read more "The Crisis and Future of Democracy"
read more "The Crisis and Future of Democracy"
Analysis and Strategy on Right-Wing PopulismThe book is available for download here!
Over the past decade, many countries have seen the rise and consolidation of support for right-wing populist movements and parties. This development is being increasingly reflected in parliaments and governments alike and now poses a serious challenge, both to parties of the left and to the values at the heart of liberal democracy.
For the past two years, the Copenhagen-based Democracy in Europe Organisation (DEO) has teamed up with the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Brussels Office (RLS) on a ...
read more "Don’t Panic"
read more "Don’t Panic"
in edited volume “The Crisis and Future of Democracy”Background & objectives (edited volume)
Democracy is in jeopardy. The rise and rise of authoritarian populism as well as the accompanying polarisation of politics and sustained attacks on the fundamental norms and foundations of liberal democracy in Europe and elsewhere have made that clear. Yet these symptoms are also reflective of a much longer decline of institutions in contemporary liberal representative democracies. Low levels of ...
read more "“The rise of authoritarian populism and European integration: Central East and South East Europe”"
read more "“The rise of authoritarian populism and European integration: Central East and South East Europe”"
Events in Thuringia highlight a lack of principles among the traditional right, now as in the pastBerlin is not Weimar and the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is not the Nazi Party (NSDAP), but after Thuringia’s minister-president was elected with AfD votes, it is all but impossible not to see the historical parallels.
The Weimar Republic perished due to a lack of democrats. It was not torn apart by conflict between the extreme right and the extreme left, a pet hypothesis that is trotted out time and again, even today, to ...
read more "When it comes to beating the left, any way is the right way"
read more "When it comes to beating the left, any way is the right way"
After the 14 April parliamentary elections the Finnish parliament is more left-wing, more gender equal and younger. Among 200 MPs 91 are now women. Left Alliance got its first victory in 24 years and Social Democrats in 20 years, while Green League got its best result in parliamentary elections. According to voter advice applications the new MPs of almost all parties are more left-wing than those in former parliament. This is especially remarkable in parliamentary groups of Green League and Swedish Peoples’ Party. However, the red-green parties (SDP, Green...
read more "Finnish Parliamentary Elections 2019"
read more "Finnish Parliamentary Elections 2019"
The day after the election, no one knows who will be governing Sweden in the coming four years. The two traditional coalitions are tied at almost exactly the same result. The current governing red/green coalition; the Social Democrats, the Greens and passive support from the Left Party, received 40.6% of the votes, while the challenging centre-right coalition; the Moderates, Liberals, Centre Party and Christian Democrats, ended up with 40.3%. The rest was made up of the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats at 17.6%, which makes them the third biggest party and,...
read more "The end of Swedish exceptionalism"
read more "The end of Swedish exceptionalism"
The Differences Between Far-Right and Left-wing PopulismThe electoral cycle of 2017 is a turning point in the French political landscape. The presidential and legislative elections were a major rupture which disrupted the political field.
Historically French politics were structured by a dividing line opposing two poles along the left/right cleavage, even though the composition of the two poles evolved over time, thus reflecting the socio-economic transformations of the French society and the changes in the balance of forces in the political field. ...
read more "France Insoumise versus the Front National"
read more "France Insoumise versus the Front National"
Lecture by Chantal Mouffe - Rethinking EuropeIn January 2018 the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Brussels Office started its new lecture series "Rethinking Europe" and invited the political theorist Chantal Mouffe for her lecture "The Populist Moment and the Future of Democracy", which has been attended by more than 140 people.
Mouffe based her main thesis – that the growing right wing populism could only be countered by a strategic populism from the left – on an extensive analysis of today’s crisis of political representation due to the ...
read more "The Populist Moment and the Future of Democracy"
read more "The Populist Moment and the Future of Democracy"