Event Highlights: Populism and the Future of Liberal Democracy in the West
By Aislinn O’Brien, Candidate for Bachelors of the Arts in International Relations and Political Science
On September 20th, the Center for the Study of Europe welcomed Prof. Sheri Berman from Barnard College at Columbia University to lecture on “Populism and the Future of Liberal Democracy in the West”. Berman began by qualifying the widely agreed upon notion that democracy is making a retreat. She explained that there are more democracies in the world than ever before. However, she then quickly moved on to presenting some disturbing trends happening in the realm of democracy. According to Berman, in 2017 the same number of democracies were backsliding, becoming less democratic, as were becoming more democratic. She continued that the quality of democracy in some countries is declining as well, such as in the EU and US, which is particularly concerning, in her view. Then, Berman delved into potential causes of this new trend. First, Berman discussed the state of economic inequality, especially within particular domestic economies. In her view, a large amount of wealth is going to the wealthy, rather than being distributed to those who are less well-off, resulting in worsened inequality and thus putting those who are already the most economically marginalized at even higher risk for becoming radicalized into populist or other, more extreme movements. Second, she discussed the impacts of changing demographics, particularly as they relate to immigration. Berman articulated that demographic changes and immigration are triggering the racial biases of some white people, linking into concerns that they won’t be in charge or won’t be able to be as successful anymore. In her view, this relates to a larger, more foundational issue that there is a perception that governments are not effectively responding to changes or understanding how changes, like those caused by immigration, actually impact people, especially those who are already the most disenfranchised and marginalized. On this point, Berman discussed that, unfortunately, political institutions have actually become less responsive over time. Broadly, she stressed that this is incredibly important as, if people don’t feel efficacy, they lose faith in their governments. It was great to hear Berman’s thoughts on this relevant topic and we were happy to have her at the CSE!
