The New World: The populist revolution is here to stay

Over the last decade a populist tide has been sweeping across the West. From Donald Trump’s entry into the White House to the rise of the Law and Justice Party in Poland, populists have spoken to widespread anxieties about immigration, identity, and inequality. In so doing, they have challenged the ideological foundations of globalisation and the post-Cold War liberal order.

Will populism continue to grow in the wake of the coronavirus crisis? And will it fundamentally change the character of global politics?

Populism is here to stay, according to Matthew Goodwin, Professor of Politics at the University of Kent and co-author of National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy.  He says it will be a political presence across the West and beyond for the foreseeable future.

In the latest episode of The New World podcast, I hosted Matthew to talk about the future of populism – and liberal democracy – after the coronavirus pandemic. We discussed the rise of national populist parties in Europe, the emergence of identity politics before and after the end of the Cold War, and the likely outcome of the 2020 United States presidential election.

You can access the episode here:

You can follow The New World on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, via Audioboom, here.