Democracy is on the increase, according to a lot of people, from the United States and Turkey to India and Hungary.
What is fueling this action?
Democracy is a political theory that views” the people” as a morally upright, good team in community, in contrast to those who are arrogant and out of contact with society. Former president Donald Trump and other politicians have relied on this common framework to maintain their standing among their supporters.
For instance, in a speech at a convention in Budapest in April 2024, Trump referred to the “pic fight to rescue our countries from all of the sinister makes who want to kill them” that he and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán were engaged in. These” frightening forces” usually include everyone from the media and global organizations to the general public and refugees.
Since 2010, Hungary’s populist prime minister Orbán has frequently attributed international organizations like international organizations to stifling Hungarian politics and defying its own interests. Hungary was no longer be regarded as a republic, according to the European Parliament’s decision in 2022.
In its most dramatic, authoritarian form, democracy poses a danger to democracy. It polarizes cultures and causes distrust in authorities.
Political leaders continue to appeal because they pledge to give back strength to the electorate. They frequently deliver something that is wildly diverse from what they say. Without addressing the disparity between the rich and the poor, they frequently make issues like gender and racial injustice worse.
I have spent a lot of my career studying nationalist actions, both as a politician who was in opposition to Orbán’s program and now as a researcher.
One thing I’ve learned from this particular situation is that to stop democracy, politics must first be protected from it.
What’s behind democracy
Democracy is viewed by many journalists and political researchers as a” cultural pushback” against conservative white males who fear the loss of opportunity in a changing world.
Emigration, race and religion are three problems that are often key to some populists ‘ politics. Some experts believe that democracy is also a result of economic factors like a weak market, global commerce, industrial drones, and artificial intelligence.
This is because the development of artificial knowledge, for instance, has led to the reduction of steady jobs in sectors such as manufacturing, which again gave working- class people a pathway to cultural mobility.
Numerous experts and academics continue to question whether democracy is related to the business. This discussion takes different forms, but it usually boils down to statements like this one, made by a popular social scientist about the 2016 U. S. political election:” Status threat, no financial hardship, explains the 2016 political vote”.
In other words, at least according to this argument, white voters ‘ concerns about losing their social standing were a factor in the 2016 presidential election.
It’s the economy
A different source of worry, according to my recent research, is driving populism in Europe, North America, and Latin America: people’s worries about economic insecurity are a key driver.
For instance, Americans who lost their jobs in the manufacturing sector in the 2010s were most likely to turn down the Democratic Party and support Trump in 2016.
People’s anti-immigration attitudes are reportedly fueled by their concern for their own jobs, according to research.
Research also reveals that Europeans who lost their jobs or had their earnings slashed as a result of competition with low-wage immigrant workers, were more likely to feel threatened by globalization. They were also more likely to support nationalism and support populist right-wing candidates throughout Western Europe.
Populist voters in the US
However, research indicates that not all populist voters can be grouped under the same umbrella. Populist voters are a diverse demographic with a variety of goals and concerns.
For instance, artificial intelligence poses a greater threat to jobs in the US and western Europe than it does in eastern Europe, making Americans and Western Europeans more concerned about this issue than eastern Europeans.
Race is another factor. Some white voters who are facing financial difficulties may believe that immigrants and people of color are to blame for the lack of employment and are to blame for their economic problems.
Despite the widespread backing Trump enjoys from many in this group, populism is not just about conservative white men, though. For instance, Democratic politicians in the US have been having a harder time convincing black voters.
Black voters still generally vote for Democrats. However, between 2020 and 2024, the Democratic Party saw a 28 percentage point decrease in black voters. The majority of those who left the party converted to Republican politics.
Since 2008, this voter realignment has taken place. Trump won the election of Trump by four percentage points, beating Republican nominee Mitt Romney by two percentage points, and he also won the same amount of votes from black working-class voters. This shift suggests that the Democrats have a working-class issue rather than a problem involving white working-class members. Economic factors, rather than just racial identity, are a major factor driving voters away from the Democratic Party.
Not all populist voters are extremists
Many media outlets tend to concentrate on the core populist voters, who are masters of outrage with what one populism scholar refers to as “bad manners.” In this context, that means using inflammatory language or making politically incorrect statements, among other tactics, to draw attention to their cause.
However, the most popular populist political movements in countries like Italy and Poland have grown as a result of appealing to voters who are concerned about bread and butter issues. They bring together a core group of voters who are primarily motivated by racism and culture with an additional group of voters who are not primarily driven by these issues.
Finally, voters ‘ support for populist leaders also depends on how nonpopulist, mainstream politicians appeal to them. Inclusive socioeconomic policies, such as expanding unemployment insurance, for example, can help stave off a populist surge.
The way ahead
There is no one- size- fits- all answer to the challenge of populism. Job guarantee programs, for instance, help to reduce the degree of economic insecurity that frequently fuels populist sentiment.
Portable benefits that employees carry from job to job, giving them constant access to health care, retirement savings, and other benefits, may help lessen the anxieties that motivate populists in an economy characterized by gig work and people frequently moving from one job to another.
Increasingly affordable housing and limiting rents can also lead to more stable living conditions.
I believe that a concerted effort must be made to combat the economic insecurity that fuels this global phenomenon in order to counteract right-wing populism. The path forward may be challenging, but the alternative, a world where democracy is eroded and societies are polarized, is even more frightening.
Comparative politics professor at Georgetown University, Gábor Scheiring.
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.