Lecture 9 Flashcards
(20 cards)
What is the main explanation for the rise of populist authoritarian parties according to Inglehart & Norris?
A cultural backlash against postmaterialist values and perceived cultural threats, especially among older and less-secure voters.
What role does economic insecurity play in support for authoritarian populism?
While cultural factors are key, declining existential security due to inequality and economic stagnation enhances the appeal of xenophobic populist parties.
What is the ‘Silent Revolution’ thesis?
The idea that rising existential security in post-war democracies led to intergenerational shifts toward postmaterialist values and cultural openness.
The movement from the 60s and 70s was characterized by new social values.
shift in focus from economic only right and left to new values, progressive values, green economy, etc.
Also called as green progressive
How do period effects influence populist support over time?
Economic crises and rising inequality create temporary increases in materialist values, boosting populist authoritarian support across cohorts.
What is a key paradox in populist support noted by Inglehart & Norris?
People often vote for populists not based on economic self-interest, but due to cultural concerns and feelings of being ‘strangers in their own land’.
What is the ideological core of populist radical-right parties according to Mudde?
A combination of nativism, authoritarianism, and populism.
How does Mudde define nativism?
The belief that states should be inhabited exclusively by the native group, and that outsiders are a threat to the homogeneous nation-state.
What distinguishes populism from nativism?
Populism opposes ‘the pure people’ vs. ‘the corrupt elite’ within the native group, while nativism focuses on native vs. foreign distinctions.
What is the relationship between populist radical-right parties and liberal democracy?
These parties challenge liberal democratic norms like minority rights and pluralism, though they accept majoritarian democracy.
These parties are okay with Majoritarian democracy, where the majoritary should decide. But They do not support the parts of democracy where minorieties should be protected nor for many different groups and opions.
What is welfare chauvinism?
The belief that social benefits should be restricted to native citizens and denied to immigrants or minorities.
What is the core ideology of populist radical-right parties?
They combine nativism (anti-immigration, nationalism), authoritarianism (strict order, tough on crime), and populism (the people vs. the elite).
Why is the populist radical right seen as a threat to liberal democracy?
It undermines constitutional protections for minorities and rejects pluralism, promoting an exclusionary vision of the people.
How do populist radical-right parties affect policy when in government?
They often drive restrictive immigration and integration policies, and shift political discourse toward nationalist and exclusionary agendas.
How do populist radical-right parties gain support in a democratic system?
By exploiting public insecurities, emphasizing cultural threats, and portraying themselves as the sole voice of the people.
Why are populist radical-right parties electorally successful despite small extremist bases?
Because they mobilize salience around specific issues like immigration, which resonate broadly even among mainstream voters.
Because they focus on certain issues, like immigration, that many peopole care about, not just extremists, these issues are ikmportant to a lot of regular votersm which help parties attract more support.
How do Inglehart & Norris distinguish between economic and cultural explanations of populism?
They argue that while both matter, the cultural backlash hypothesis better explains support for authoritarian populism across Western democracies.
What is a key critique of the cultural backlash thesis?
It may understate the real and material effects of economic insecurity, particularly in regions hit by deindustrialization or austerity.
How does Mudde’s definition of populism help distinguish between left and right populism?
While both share the ‘people vs. elite’ logic, right-wing populists combine it with nativism and exclusion, while left populists emphasize inclusion and redistribution.
What does Mudde mean by calling populism a ‘thin-centered ideology’?
Populism lacks a fully developed worldview and must attach to broader ideologies like nationalism (right) or socialism (left) to shape full political platforms.
Why is it significant that populist radical-right parties accept electoral democracy?
Because it allows them to rise to power within democratic systems while simultaneously eroding liberal democratic norms once in office.
