Reading Paper #12: “Europe’s Populist Surge”

Allison Brown 4215: European Union Dr. Anderson April 5, 2021 Reading Paper #12: “Europe’s Populist Surge” Author: Cas Mudde - A Dutch political scientist with a focus on populist movements and growth within Europe. Mudde is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia (US) and a Researcher at the Center for Research on Extremism at the University of Oslo. Published: This text was published in the magazine, Foreign Affairs. The magazine is peer-reviewed and academic and is known as a formative publication on issues of European and EU affairs. The journal is published by the Council on Foreign Relations, also a very profound and factually based Washington DC international relations think tank. Date: The text was published in the Nov/Dec 2016 edition. In his abstract, Mudde states, “... the year 2015 was a dreadful one for Europe in general and for the EU in particular.” (1) He discusses a rise in terrorism, the economic crisis in Greece that threatened the Eurozone, and the rising number of refugees from Middle Eastern countries. He also mentions 2016, and that it “ … has not been much better”. (1) 2016 of course, being the year the Brexit vote took place, continued high (albeit slightly lower) refugees influx, and political instability in Turkey impacted Europe and the EU. In the text, Mudde uses these issues to examine how populism and Euroscepticism have grown recently. Thesis: The “threat” of terrorism and growing populations from the Middle East and alongside growth in Euroscepticism, a doubt of their policy’s effectiveness in dealing with such issues specifically, has led Europe to face a populist surge at local and state levels. Gist: A myriad of factors, namely refugees, economics, and Euroscepticism, have contributed to the rise of populist leaders in Europe and even representation within the EU promoting fringe political ideals but also appealing to common voters with modern issues that cause much concern. Telling Examples: 1) Perceived threat of Terror/Refugee Influx, as seen in the Brexit film earlier in the semester, the perceived threat of Muslim refugees and even other European migrants are in play for populist movements in Europe. Additionally, a rise in both Islamic and other terror events in 2015/2016, and the EU’s seemingly missing response, contribute to a general fear in the region for some that can be played on my populism. 2) Euroscepticism, a lack of fundamental understanding and education about the EU, with its slow policy creation, leads some to be skeptical of the institution and the funding it receives. Again, this was evident in the Brexit vote. Populists can work off of the lack of education about the EU when arguing against it, or its decisions and instead place their focus on domestic issues that matter most for the French or Germans. 3) Economics/The Eurocrisis, similar to Euroscepticism, the notion of wrong economic ties also circulated, and still does, during this period. With the Greece euro crisis in recent memory and the eurozone nearly collapsing, questions were raised over the economic setup of the EU and populists could argue that the money for the EU was being wasted or being in the eurozone and bankrolling country’s like Greece isn’t the job of the UK or Luxembourg. Criticism: I enjoyed this reading, it was a particularly good read after our lecture on populism in Europe. Confirming the causes of the surge and why it can be appealing to some Europeans, particulary with current issues that seem to be unsolved within the European Union.