Understanding Populism in the Post-industrial Society: The Case of European Union

The rise of mass society, neoliberalism and globalization brought new challenges to modern capitalist societies and increased the complexity of populist phenomenon. Voting decisions have become more dependent on expected outcomes rather than political affiliation, thus threatening political stability. The neoliberal needs of globalized markets favoured power concentrations and the emergence of global élites. Countries had to adapt by relying on a more expert and technocratic management of socio-economic policies even to the detriment of national interests, welfare policies and public opinion. Starting with the global crisis of 2007, many Western capitalist systems have seen their controversial democratic legitimation falter along with their fragile economic success, favouring the rise of modern forms of populism. The wave of populism within the European Union represents an important context for analysing the role of democratic legitimation, technocracy and welfare policies in guaranteeing the stability of capitalist systems. This chapter, after analysing populism in the post-industrial society and the problems related to the EU policies, discusses the roots and challenges of European populism. It underlines the importance of recovering democratic legitimacy, political equilibrium, social justice and socio-economic development.