An Untenable Compromise? Liberal Democracy Between Populism and Globalization

Over time, globalization has deeply affected western liberal democracies, impairing their social fabric and undermining their legal and political foundations. Such an impact can, however, be wholly appreciated only if the nature of those democracies is first understood. With this aim in view, in this chapter a genealogy of the concept of liberal democracy is outlined and its heterogeneous character, resulting from the historical encounter of the distinct traditions of liberalism and democracy, is underscored. As a result, liberal democracy emerges as a compromise which globalization has now put under severe strain. More specifically, in this perspective globalization represents an outgrowth of the liberal, individualistic component of that compromise which has largely subverted—from the inside, as it were—the balance on which liberal democracy rested. This has driven the democratic elements in the compromise to seek new outlets to voice their concerns and claim their interests. No matter how much at odds with the liberal-democratic tradition, so called “populism” appears to be one of those outlets. If so, populism should be regarded as a still “democratic” symptom of an issue that, due to its largely unprecedented nature, now requires new measures to be addressed.