Are populist movements inherently tied to human rights abuses? With the rise of several populist movements throughout the world in the past few decades, this question has come into prominence in political science literature. Although there are several lenses through which populist movements are defined and analyzed, no matter which definition of populism is used, it seems to produce a mixed bag of rights violations and securing of rights for underprivileged classes. The primary definition of populist movements is that it is a force for change to take power back from elites in society and return it to the common folk. While this perspective seems to reveal that populism can be a force for democratic change, there are several problems that arise
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In political science, there are a few interpretations of the source and meaning of populism. One interpretation of populism is known as the “political-institutional approach”. This approach sees populist movements are much more systematic led by a charismatic leader. This leader is typically seen as an outsider. Perhaps the most prominent example of this form of populism are the Nazi Regime in Germany led by Adolf Hitler. While this is a fine lens through which one can analyze populist behavior, it isn’t necessarily the best. A more helpful analysis of populist motives and behaviors is the dictionary definition and what Allred, Hawkins, and Ruth label the “ideational approach”. This approach looks at populism as a movement of the lower classes to retake the government from elites. When viewed through this lense, the earliest major populist movement in Europe would be the French Revolution and Robespierre’s Reign of Terror. Throughout the rest of history, several different populist movements of this type have occurred, particularly in Latin American countries and modern American movements which can be seen with the rise of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. These populist movements tend to create tensions with liberal democracy and human rights on one hand, but also facilitate human rights protections on the …show more content…
The primary benefit to human rights resulting from populism is the expansion of democracy. As per the definition of ideational populism, the movement is a revolution against the established, oppressive elites that dominate the upper echelons of government. Populism returns this power back to the people. It allows ordinary citizens to regain their voice in government and grant equal access to public service. This can particularly be seen in the rise of far right populism in Europe today. There is a mass rise in hostility towards the European Union. This hostility gained international prominence in 2016 with the vote in Britain to leave the European Union. Despite the “remain” camp’s best efforts to label the “leave” camp as a movement of racism, it ultimately is a movement of populism to regain democracy. There is a sense that European Union officials are not elected and while that may be technically false, the populist concerns remain. While European officials are elected by the 28 heads of state in the European Union, it is widely seen as elites electing more elites. Not only is it dominated by elites, it greatly diminishes the sovereignty of any particular country when the other European countries can dictate how the others should behave policy-wise. The population of Britain could no longer stand
In political science, there are a few interpretations of the source and meaning of populism. One interpretation of populism is known as the “political-institutional approach”. This approach sees populist movements are much more systematic led by a charismatic leader. This leader is typically seen as an outsider. Perhaps the most prominent example of this form of populism are the Nazi Regime in Germany led by Adolf Hitler. While this is a fine lens through which one can analyze populist behavior, it isn’t necessarily the best. A more helpful analysis of populist motives and behaviors is the dictionary definition and what Allred, Hawkins, and Ruth label the “ideational approach”. This approach looks at populism as a movement of the lower classes to retake the government from elites. When viewed through this lense, the earliest major populist movement in Europe would be the French Revolution and Robespierre’s Reign of Terror. Throughout the rest of history, several different populist movements of this type have occurred, particularly in Latin American countries and modern American movements which can be seen with the rise of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. These populist movements tend to create tensions with liberal democracy and human rights on one hand, but also facilitate human rights protections on the …show more content…
The primary benefit to human rights resulting from populism is the expansion of democracy. As per the definition of ideational populism, the movement is a revolution against the established, oppressive elites that dominate the upper echelons of government. Populism returns this power back to the people. It allows ordinary citizens to regain their voice in government and grant equal access to public service. This can particularly be seen in the rise of far right populism in Europe today. There is a mass rise in hostility towards the European Union. This hostility gained international prominence in 2016 with the vote in Britain to leave the European Union. Despite the “remain” camp’s best efforts to label the “leave” camp as a movement of racism, it ultimately is a movement of populism to regain democracy. There is a sense that European Union officials are not elected and while that may be technically false, the populist concerns remain. While European officials are elected by the 28 heads of state in the European Union, it is widely seen as elites electing more elites. Not only is it dominated by elites, it greatly diminishes the sovereignty of any particular country when the other European countries can dictate how the others should behave policy-wise. The population of Britain could no longer stand