4. Back to the Future: The Rise of Nationalist Populism

This chapter addresses the questions of how and why populism is gaining traction in many countries around the world, and whether the underlying fragmenting tribal instincts that characterise it can conceivably find accommodation with the opposite dynamic of globalisation that exemplifies unification. Of key interest is the relationship between populism, nationalism and politics of identity as a factor bearing on the well-being of democracy. The chapter further explores two concepts of democracy in the context of populism that are ultimately irreconcilable, namely, the logic of liberalism that protects individual freedoms and the rule of law, versus electoral contestation over the sovereignty of the people, whom the populists regard as a homogeneous collective and claim to represent. This topic is explored by tracing the rise of right-wing populism in Poland and Turkey, two countries of core interest to this volume that manifest the most advanced forms of retreat from liberal democracy.