10.23661/BP8.2019
Marschall, Paul
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
Klingebiel, Stephan
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
Populism: consequences for global sustainable development
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
2019
Entwicklungspolitik
Nachhaltigkeit
Demokratie
Populismus
Development Policy
Sustainability
Democracy
Populism
eng
https://doi.org/10.23661/as6.2019
1.0
<p> Populism is a style of politics that attacks the existing normative consensus within
society, making systematic use of marginalisation and bogeyman tactics. Typical
marginaliastion strategies target minorities within the population and adopt an
anti-scientific world view. Restrictions on civil society are one of the consequences of
government action dominated by populism. <br /> When it comes to mobilising voters,
populists draw upon selected topics which differ according to political camp (left-wing
versus right-wing populism) and national context. Nonetheless, it is possible to identify
certain patterns of populist expression, such as the practice of contrasting the “people”
and their supposed will with an allegedly out-of-touch political “elite”. The values of
the population are largely set within the national context, while representatives of the
elite are often portrayed as primarily interested in interactions outside of the nation
state and thus perceived and characterised as proponents of globalisation. <br /> Populist
trends can be seen in Western nations, former Eastern Bloc states and countries in the
global South. <br /> Populist movements pose considerable threats to multilateral efforts
aimed at tackling transnational political challenges. These patterns include: </p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Abandonment of efforts to promote integration. Accordingly, the European Union (EU)
is considered an “elite project” and emblematic of many of the negative aspects of
globalisation.</p>
</li>
<li>Abandonment of multilateral institutions and international trade agreements. This
includes withdrawal from international accords (Paris climate agreement, etc.) and
international organisations.</li>
<li>Reinterpretation/rejection of development policy. Development policy is not understood
as an original instrment for promoting global sustainable development, but rather
reinterpreted as a vehicle for achieving narrow national goals.</li>
</ul>
<p> The partially transnational nature of populism could present an additional challenge for
global sustainable development in future. Efforts by populist streams to cooperate at
cross-border level and thus create a form of “meta-populism” have barely succeeded to
date, but this could change after the European elections in May 2019. <br /> The current
and the expected future significance of populist actors varies from country to country.
Even in nations in which populists are not currently in government, the state could
introduce budget cuts or reallocate funding to specific development policy topics in an
effort to minimise the electoral gains of the populists. This runs the threat of populist
approaches becoming effective even in countries where populist parties are not in
government. </p>
Briefing Paper