The Power of Populism and People: Resistance and Protest in the Modern World

Description

Recent years have seen a disturbing advance in populist and authoritarian styles of rule and, in response, a rise in popular activism. Strongmen, especially since the advent of fascism, have formed their base of power in popular acclaim. But what power do the people have in checking the rise of tyranny? In this book an international team of experts representing several academic disciplines examines the power relationship between peoples and their rulers. It is among the first to study this globally as a problem of nation states. From populism in 19th-century Latin America to eastern Europe since the collapse of communism, to the Arab Spring and contemporary Russia and China, the cases in this book span five continents and twelve nations. Taken together, they reveal how different forms of popular opposition have succeeded or failed in unseating authoritarian regimes and expose the tactics and strategies used by regimes to repress people power and create an image of popular support. Analysing the causes and consequence of the global advance of authoritarianism, The Power of Populism and the People offers a historical comparison of popular protest, opposition and crises over the last century to the recent rise of populist leaders. Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgements Contributors and Editors Introduction: Authoritarianism like liberal democracy is the work of the people The crisis of pluralist liberal democracy and the re-emergence of populism The popular appeal of fascism and populist nationalism in history The efficacy of popular mobilization in opposing authoritarianism The people and authoritarian advance The people, democratic structures and power Chapter 1: Civil resistance versus authoritarian rule: The Arab Spring and beyond Overview of civil resistance Theory of voluntary servitude History as struggle between democracy and dictatorship Changing threats: Populism and ‘illiberal democracy’ The Arab Spring: Ten propositions Movements after the Arab Spring The role of women in civil resistance movements Conclusions: People power and dictatorships Chapter 8: Civil society as a threat to democracy Chapter 2: The Arab uprisings and people’s power: Romantic views and hard realities The uprisings Bottom-up participation and its limits Women and the uprisings Why strong organizations prevail In the end Chapter 3: ‘Maidans’ and movements: Legacies, innovations and contention in independent Ukraine Introduction Patterns of Past Contention in Ukraine Revolution on the Granite: Developing the Ukrainian protest playbook Cooperation, coordination and coalition Intergenerational pooling of resources Control over informational channel and capacity to control the ‘crowd’ Ukraine without Kuchma: Failures in the application of the protest playbook Cooperation, coordination and coalition Pooling of resources and intergenerational training Control over informational channel and capacity to control the ‘crowd’: A collapse of the coalition Orange Revolution: Return to broad coalitions and coordination Cooperation and coordination Pooling of resources and intergenerational training Control over informational channels and capacity to control the ‘crowd’ The EuroMaidan: Protest playbook abandoned Lack of coordination and coalition building from the beginning Low levels of pooling resources and intergenerational interaction Low capacity to control the ‘crowd’ and no control over informational channels Not coordination but coexistence A vicious and uncontrollable cycle of repression and violence Conclusion Chapter 4: Paradoxes of reform: Protest, progress and polarization in Malaysia Civil society in the 2018 electoral upset . . . and in what came next The composition of civil society Return of a strongman, rebranded The path ahead Chapter 5: People power in Putin’s Russia: Social versus political protests Managing society under semi-authoritarian regimes Political protests in Russia The challenge of social protests The dilemma of social protests and regime legitimacy Conclusion Chapter 6: How the party-state harnessed people power in China People power in an illiberal era Mobilizing the people via traditional repertoire The new and the old under Xi Jinping Coupling the emotional with the legal From internal to external enemies Pairing censorship with positive propaganda Global China: Harnessing people power Chapter 7: Caught between Kemalist and Islamist authoritarianisms: The masses as auxiliary power in Turkey, 1923 to present Introduction 1923–50: The origins of Turkish authoritarianism and mass violence 1950–60: The Democrat Party era and the dawn of populism The Istanbul Pogrom of September 6–7, 1955 1960–80: The long ‘68 and the demands of the masses Anti-Alevi pogroms in Maraş in 1978 1980–2002: The dawn of neoliberal authoritarianism Sivas massacre in July 1993 2000s: Revisiting the ‘turn to authoritarianism’ Clash: Masses as auxiliary power versus masses as demanders Conclusion Acknowledegement Chapter 9: 1989 inverted: Transformative authoritarian memory and the rise of populism in Poland and Hungary Introduction The modes of transitions literature Paths of extrication and democracy The combination of accommodation and contention in the Polish and Hungarian extrications The legacy of extrication: Revisionist discursive space and the emergence of memory warriors Dual crisis, right civil society mobilization and populist success Conclusion Chapter 10: Protesting democracy in Africa: Popular movements and political transformation Third termism as a manufactured crisis Measuring and promoting democracy in Africa: The role of the international community The role of popular movements in deepening democracy Challenges of protest democracy Conclusion Chapter 11: Populism in Latin America as global history Global populisms Close encounters of the third position Populism without borders Past and presents Chapter 12: Why Trump is not the problem Index