Darren J. O’Byrne

ABSTRACT

For many, the “Trump phenomenon” represents an authoritarian phase of the neoliberal project. For others, it is a manifestation of a broader populist project that is the antithesis of, and arises in part as a reaction against, neoliberalism. Across Europe, political parties hitherto identified with the Far Right and thus beyond the margins of “respectable” politics have sought to reinvent themselves as legitimate voices within this populist framework. The UK “Brexit” vote and the policies of the May administration further suggest a coalition emerging around the Far Right and those on the nationalist wing of conservatism, putting them at odds with the neoliberals and neoconservatives who have dominated the political Right for some time, and who have been the principal drivers of capitalist globalization. This begs the question—does the new populism signal the end of the globalization project? And what, if anything, can the Left do in response?

KEYWORDS: Globalization, human rights, neoconservatism, neoliberalism, populism

From: International Critical Thought 2019 9 (2)

Editor: Wang Yi