The End of Populism : Twenty Proposals to Defend Liberal Democracy

The populist wave which has submerged Europe and the United States in recent years seems unstoppable. But is it? The End of Populism offers answers and proposes concrete solutions to confront the rise of “illiberal democracy.” Drawing on years of research, the author develops a complete new ideal type of populism, which enables him to identify the basic problems. Deploying a wealth of social science evidence, he refutes the populist claim that democracy is a “demand side” phenomenon, and demonstrates that it is rather a “supply side” phenomenon. He argues that one can have "too much democracy” and shows how methods of direct democracy, such as popular initiatives, referendums, and open primaries, which pretend “to give the power back to the people,” have led to manipulation by populists and moneyed interests. Populist attacks on the judiciary, central banks, the media, and other independent agencies, instead of strengthening democracy, have rather undermined liberal democracy. The author formulates twenty original and bold proposals to fight populism and defend liberal democracy. These proposals include ways to bridge the gap between the people and the elites, fight corruption, improve political party funding, and initiate societal, educational, and macro-economic reforms to increase economic equality and alleviate the insecurity of the citizens. The populist wave which has submerged Europe and the United States in recent years seems unstoppable. But is it? The end of populism offers answers and proposes concrete solutions to confront the rise of "illiberal democracy." Drawing on extensive original sources, this book refutes the populist claim that democracy is a "demand side" phenomenon, and demonstrates that it is rather a "supply side" phenomenon. Marcel H. Van Herpen argues that one can have "too much democracy" and shows how methods of direct democracy, such as popular initiatives, referendums, and open primaries, which pretend "to give the power back to the people," have led to manipulation by populists and moneyed interests. Populist attacks on the judiciary, central banks, the media, and other independent agencies, instead of strengthening democracy, have rather undermined liberal democracy. The author formulates twenty original and bold proposals to bridge the gap between the people and the elites, fight corruption, improve political party funding, and initiate societal, educational, and macro-economic reforms to increase economic equality and alleviate the insecurity of the citizens. Elegantly written and clearly argued, this is an essential book for understanding the populist phenomenon. -- Provided by publisher The populist wave which has submerged Europe and the United States in recent years seems unstoppable. But is it? The end of populism offers answers and proposes concrete solutions to confront the rise of "illiberal democracy." 0Drawing on extensive original sources, this book refutes the populist claim that democracy is a "demand side" phenomenon, and demonstrates that it is rather a "supply side" phenomenon. Marcel H. Van Herpen argues that one can have "too much democracy" and shows how methods of direct democracy, such as popular initiatives, referendums, and open primaries, which pretend "to give the power back to the people," have led to manipulation by populists and moneyed interests. Populist attacks on the judiciary, central banks, the media, and other independent agencies, instead of strengthening democracy, have rather undermined liberal democracy. The author formulates twenty original and bold proposals to bridge the gap between the people and the elites, fight corruption, improve political party funding, and initiate societal, educational, and macro-economic reforms to increase economic equality and alleviate the insecurity of the citizens. 0Elegantly written and clearly argued, this is an essential book for understanding the populist phenomenon. -- The populist wave which has submerged Europe and the United Statesin recent years seems unstoppable. But is it? The end ofpopulism offers answers and proposes concrete solutions toconfront the rise of "illiberal democracy." Drawing on extensiveoriginal sources, this book refutes the populist claim thatdemocracy is a "demand side" phenomenon, and demonstrates that itis rather a "supply side" phenomenon. Marcel H. Van Herpen arguesthat one can have "too much democracy" and shows how methods ofdirect democracy, such as popular initiatives, referendums, andopen primaries, which pretend "to give the power back to thepeople," have led to manipulation by populists and moneyedinterests. Populist attacks on the judiciary, central banks, themedia, and other independent agencies, instead of strengtheningdemocracy, have rather undermined liberal democracy. The authorformulates twenty original and bold proposals to bridge the gapbetween the people and the elites, fight corruption, improvepolitical party funding, and initiate societal, educational, andmacro-economic reforms to increase economic equality and alleviatethe insecurity of the citizens. Elegantly written and clearlyargued, this is an essential book for understanding the populistphenomenon Front matter Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Part I The populist wave: why did it happen? What is populism? Constructing an ideal type A portrait of the populist voter Populism and the role of disgust The populist program: what do populists want? Populists in power Part II Do we have too much democracy or not enough? Is democracy a question of supply or demand? Referendums and popular initiatives: can one have too much democracy? Open primaries: do they “give the power back” to the people? Reinforcing the independent agencies Part III Twenty proposals to defend liberal democracy: reforming politics and education Not more, but less direct democracy is needed A plea for a cordon sanitaire Fight corruption, restore trust, and change party financing The Sisyphean task of making public life more moral How to get rid of political castes The need for democratic education Part IV Twenty proposals to defend liberal democracy: reforming society How to handle “fake news” and “alternative facts” How to reduce economic inequality Toward an economic democracy Solving the knotty problem of migration Conclusion Bibliography Index This book proposes concrete solutions to confront the populist wave and the rise of ""illiberal democracy."" The author demonstrates that democracy is not a ""demand side"" phenomenon, but rather a ""supply side"" phenomenon and formulates twenty original and bold proposals to fight populism and defend liberal democracy. An original and essential book which will undoubtedly stimulate vigorous debate