On Right-Wing Populism
By Maggie Hannick
The rise of right-wing populism endangers the concept of world order and world law.
Right-wing populism is an ideology that claims to be anti-elitist, it opposes the establishment and reaches out to common people. Proponents of this form of politics say they want to protect the individuals from forces that keep them from prospering. They want to protect the body-politic from immigrants, (therefore they are anti-immigration and support nativism), free-trade (they are protectionists, neo-nationalists and anti-globalization), and environmental regulation (they are anti-environmentalist). Right-wing populism has become a factor in the politics of Europe, Asia and the United States as of late. Right-wing populists are also skeptical of international organizations, as they criticize the European Union and the United Nations.
Movements like the National Rally in France, the League in Italy, the Party for Freedom and the Forum for Democracy in the Netherlands, and the Independence Party in the United Kingdom – a movement ignited by efforts to oppose the European Union and immigration from Africa and the Middle East – are all considered right-wing populist movements. Additionally, the 2016 election of Donald Trump was a sign that right-wing populism had entered U.S. politics. Populist ideas attract those who admire 1930’s era fascism as it existed in countries like Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, and Spain. Although right-wing populism hasn’t claimed the lives that fascism did, the fact that those who admire Hitler, Franco and Mussolini are also admiring proponents of populism is not reassuring to those who want a more peaceful world.
The appearance of right-wing populism is a threat to the international order because it sees a world at conflict on numerous fronts – both various ethnic groups and different countries. The establishment of international law requires nation-states to find points of interest that allow the establishment of law. Who will win? A world defined by order or a world defined by division?
