The Transatlantic Rise of Populism

By Victoria Prince

This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 12-April 30, 2018.

Across transatlantic lines, there is an increasing trend of populist movements. This trend is spreading across Europe and can be found in both the post-communist countries of Eastern Europe and the well-defined democratic countries in Western Europe. Populist groups and even presidential candidates are gaining ground in the UK, France, Italy, and Germany, among many other states. They strive for a reversal of the European integration that resulted from the European Union. Populism has strong nationalist ideas and sees the EU as a threat to the nation's sovereignty. The entire development of globalization and connectivity has led the populist ideology to focus on increased xenophobic feelings and increased fringe politics. It is found that the rise of populism in Europe is a direct result of the Trump presidency in the United States.

Populism is often associated with a valorization of the common folk and a distrust of the elites. The leader of a populist group is often considered a man of the people to represent the people. This is how many of Donald Trump's supporters see Trump. American populism is growing, just as European populism is, as we can see with the current elected administration. The increasing view of politics as corrupt and led by powerful people that only have interests that serve the already powerful in the United States led to an unprecedented 2016 election. Trump utilized this ideology to gain support by creating distinguishers between "us" and "them" and created his voter base by playing into his role as a member of the "us" group who can expel the threat of "them." His slogan of "Make America Great Again" instills the nationalist agenda often found in populist movements and amplifies the distrust of the other.

This rise in populism on both sides of the Atlantic is making transatlantic relationships difficult. Populism does not support globalization and in order to counteract this to foster good relationships between the United States and the European Union, we must have leadership that encourages connectedness. Not only does the threat of populism hinder globalization by its ideology, it does so by creating a distraction by the other establish political parties. The focus in the country will shift to domestic politics and this is a detriment to the international relationships the country holds. The solution to the problem is in fact to continue building upon the established transatlantic relationships. Strengthening the bonds will lead to innovation and stronger, non-populist, leadership. Since the current administration in the United States is not supportive of increased EU-US connectivity, there must be other platforms to help this relationship flourish.