| 来源类型 | Report |
| 规范类型 | 报告 |
| Drivers of authoritarian populism in the United States: A primer | |
| Dalibor Rohac; Liz Kennedy; Vikram Singh | |
| 发表日期 | 2018-05-10 |
| 出版年 | 2018 |
| 语种 | 英语 |
| 摘要 | Key Points Although populism is not intrinsically bad, the rise of its extreme and authoritarian varieties is a significant challenge for democratic politics on both sides of the Atlantic as it risks dispensing with legal and institutional constraints imposed on majoritarian decision-making. In the United States, the appeal of authoritarian populism has gone hand in hand with a decline of trust in government and a rise in partisan polarization. Voters have also seen many of the emergency measures adopted in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis as benefiting the well-connected few at the expense of everybody else, without holding those who were responsible to account. The oft-made distinction between economic and cultural factors driving populism is rarely clear-cut in reality. The loss of status among groups experiencing economic decline, such as white males in the United States, can dramatically exacerbate underlying cultural and racial resentments. The two major parties in the United States face a challenge of reinventing themselves in the face of deep popular anger and mistrust. A return to constructive partisanship combined with bipartisan cooperation on critical issues, together with a new affirmative patriotism, will be needed to counter more extreme populist sentiments. Download the PDF. Introduction The term “populism” is often used broadly to encompass political messages and styles that may be viewed as far beyond the mainstream political consensus or transgressive. However, populism also has a narrower, more precise meaning. It denotes political parties and leaders that are anti-establishment and that divide society into two groups: self-serving elites and good, ordinary people. Not all populism is intrinsically bad. At times, populist ideas and energies have contributed to the advancement and preservation of liberal democracy. But there are rising tides of exclusionary and authoritarian populism that claim to speak on behalf of the people in contrast to various so-called out-groups: immigrants, racial and ethnic minorities, and all those who disagree with the populists’ prescriptions. Furthermore, by labeling themselves as the true voice of the people, these populists stake a claim to a perceived legitimacy in dispensing with constraints imposed on majoritarian decision-making in functioning liberal democracies. Understood in this way, authoritarian populism is a significant challenge to democratic politics on both sides of the Atlantic. An increasing number of extreme populist politicians are making headway across the world’s established democracies. While their success largely stems from their promises to address various social and economic ills by disrupting traditional forms of political bargaining and compromise, in many cases, it also involves jettisoning hard-won commitments to human dignity and freedoms. In the United States, the appeal of authoritarian populism has gone hand in hand with a decline of trust in government and a rise in partisan polarization. Increasingly in the United States, the government is seen as unresponsive to citizens’ concerns and captured by well-organized special interests. Voters are also acutely aware of Washington’s growing political dysfunction and the federal government’s inability to “get things done” and respond to the public’s policy preferences. At the ballot box, however, voters often re-enforce the extreme partisanship that contributes to this dysfunction. Although the U.S. economy has recovered from the 2008 financial crisis, it is still characterized by sluggish productivity growth and looming structural change that threatens jobs at the lower end of the education and skills ladder. The recovery was also highly unequal, with certain sectors, demographics, and regions doing extremely well and others never getting back on track. Rightly or wrongly, voters see many of the emergency measures adopted in the aftermath of the crisis as benefiting the well-connected few at the expense of everybody else, while none of those responsible for the crisis were held accountable. Economic considerations also shape attitudes toward race, immigration, and globalization. Western societies, including the United States, are becoming more diverse, especially in urban centers. Cosmopolitan urban centers, such as the metropolitan areas on the East and West Coasts, are seeing concentrations of economic dynamism, growth, and new opportunities. Combining diversity, openness, and economic dynamism, cities have grown into an economic and cultural antithesis of the less diverse and economically stagnant exurban and rural areas. This report looks at the political, economic, cultural, and racial factors driving authoritarian populism in the United States. It also provides recommendations to face this challenge moving forward. The report draws on conversations which were held at an October 2017 workshop convened by the Center for American Progress (CAP) and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) under the auspices of our joint project, “Defending Democracy and Underwriting the Transatlantic Partnership.” |
| 主题 | Foreign and Defense Policy |
| 标签 | authoritarian populism ; Center for American Progress (CAP) ; Defending Democracy ; populism |
| URL | https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/drivers-of-authoritarian-populism-in-the-united-states-a-primer/ |
| 来源智库 | American Enterprise Institute (United States) |
| 资源类型 | 智库出版物 |
| 条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.153/handle/2XGU8XDN/206547 |
| 推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Dalibor Rohac,Liz Kennedy,Vikram Singh. Drivers of authoritarian populism in the United States: A primer. 2018. |
| 条目包含的文件 | ||||||
| 文件名称/大小 | 资源类型 | 版本类型 | 开放类型 | 使用许可 | ||
| USPopulism-report.pd（702KB） | 智库出版物 | 限制开放 | CC BY-NC-SA | 浏览 | ||
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