Twenty-First Century Populism: The Spectre of Western European ...

122 Twenty-First Century Populism
its use as a scientific term. This, to be sure, seems especially true of the discussion
in Germany, where the negative connotations of populism appear
to be particularly pronounced. A cross-section of the definitions found in
the relevant literature reveals that appeals to ‘ordinary people’ and criticism
of the ‘Establishment’ are at the heart of the ‘populist syndrome’. The underlying
definition of the people may focus on a particular group or stratum
within society, but generally it cuts across all classes. Whenever they refer to
‘the people’, speakers invariably mean those lowly people whose wellbeing
is allegedly being trodden underfoot by the ruling elites. Populists see the
world in black and white, as a battle between good and evil: on the one side
are the righteous people; on the other, the wicked corporate combines,
political parties, government machinery and other power blocs conspiring
against the people’s interests. This reflects a romanticized vision of a bygone
age, the ideal of an organic and self-contained community protected by the
state against infringements of its rights (Canovan, 1981: 290 onwards).
As we can see from even a peremptory review of the pertinent literature,
it is clear that, on the basis of this definition, the most widely diverse groups,
individuals, ideologies, behaviour patterns and forms of expression can be
categorized as ‘populist’ (Ionescu and Gellner, 1969). Accordingly, before
the term can be used meaningfully, it must be chronologically, spatially and
materially restricted. The concept of ‘new right-wing populism’ does this. It
relates to parties and movements on the right of the political spectrum that
emerged and achieved their breakthrough in western democracies more or
less simultaneously, from the mid-1980s onwards. As we know, parties with
comparable political orientations are normally referred to in political science
as a ‘political family’. The basis of this assimilation is a categorization
by ideological (Fascist, Conservative, Socialist, Communist, etc.) or orientation
descriptors (Left, Right), from which certain conclusions can, in turn,
be drawn about a party’s voter base and organizational structure. On the
basis of these three criteria, the general definition set out above can be
extended and fleshed out as follows:
Social origins
Populist parties and movements are a product of modernization crises in
society. They emerge when, in the wake of excessively rapid change or dramatic
upheavals, particular sections of the population see their values being
eroded, or suffer disorientation. This sense of loss, which may have economic
causes, but is normally generated by cultural factors, is accompanied
by a fear of declining status, uncertainty about the future and feelings of
political alienation. Populist movements exploiting this type of situation
have long existed – we need only think of the Populist Party, which emerged
in the United States in the late nineteenth century and from which the phenomenon
takes its name, or of the Poujadistes in the Fourth French Republic
(Taggart, 2000). However, each of these forces took shape in a specific place
at a particular time, whereas today’s modernization processes are occurring