Abstract

Populists are making headway across Europe and from all points on the political spectrum. Their success is symptomatic of the weakness of European political parties and party systems. Some of these populists seek to reinvigorate European democracy and yet most—with their xenophobic, anti-immigrant rhetoric—seem intent on making matters worse. The challenge in Europe is to reconstitute national party systems as effective institutions for representing the popular interest. Such a challenge can be met only over the long term. For now, Europeans must deal with those populists who emerge at the national level. Some of these can be dealt with safely and others cannot. So far Europeans have succeeded in keeping the most unsavory populists from power. However, such success is not guaranteed. Indeed, failure to restrain European populism may be just a matter of time.

pdf

Share