A Century of Populist Demagogues: Eighteen European Portraits, 1918–2018

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The renowned historian Ivan T. Berend discusses populist demagoguery through the presentation of eighteen politicians from twelve European countries spanning World War I to the present. Berend defines demagoguery, reflects on its connections with populism, and examines the common features and differences in the demagogues' programs and language. Mussolini and Hitler, the "model demagogues," are only briefly discussed, as is the election of Donald Trump in the United States and its impact on Europe. The eighteen detailed portraits include two communists, two fascists, and several right-wing and anti-EU politicians, extending across the full range of demagoguery. The author covers Béla Kun, the leader of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, weaving through Codreanu and Gömbös from the 1930s, on to Stahremberg and Haider in Austria, and then more broadly throughout Europe from Ceauescu, Milošević, Tuđjman, Izetbegović, Berlusconi, Wilders, to the two Le Pens, Farage, and Boris Johnson, Orbán and the two Kaczyńskis. Each case includes an analysis of the time and place and is illustrated with quotations from the demagogues' speeches. This book is a warning about the continuing threat of populist demagogues both for their subjects and for history itself. Berend insists on the crucial importance for Europe to understand the reality behind their promises and persuasive language as imperative to impeding their success. The renowned historian Ivan T. Berend reviews eighteen politicians from twelve European countries from World War I to the present, two communists, two fascists, and several rightwing and anti-EU militants. The portraits include persons like Haider, Milošević, Berlusconi or Boris Johnson. The author defines demagoguery, reflects on its connections with populism, and examines the common features and differences in the demagogues' programs and language. cover Front matter Table of Contents Preface and Acknowledgement Introduction: Who are the populist demagogues, and how can they attain political power? Part I. Interwar populist—communist and fascist—demagogues Chapter 1. A Hungarian communist demagogue: Béla Kun Chapter 2. A Hungarian fascist demagogue: Gyula Gömbös Chapter 3. A Romanian fascist demagogue: Corneliu Zelea Codreanu Chapter 4. A fascistoid Austrian demagogue: Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg Part II. Turn of the millennium populist demagogues Chapter 5.An Austrian far-right demagogue: Jörg Haider Chapter 6. A Romanian communist demagogue: Nicolae Ceauşescu Chapter 7. Two French demagogues: Le Diable and La Fille du Diable,Jean-Marie and Marine Le Pen Chapter 8. An entertaining but harmful buffoon-type demagogue:the Italian Silvio Berlusconi Chapter 9. Three nationalist demagogues in Yugoslavia and a devastating civil war Chapter 10. Two British Brexit fighters: Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage Chapter 11. A “freedom fighter” against the European Union: the Dutch Geert Wilders Chapter 12. Three demagogues exploit the difficult transformation: Viktor Orbán in Hungary and the Kaczyński brothers of Poland Conclusion Bibliography Index