POPULISM BEFORE AND AFTER THE PANDEMIC
Why is populism so popular? The world we inhabit seems awash with populist demagogues who appear to hold sway over the ‘gullible’ electorates. Think Bolsonaro in Brazil, Duerte in the Philippines, Modi in India, Orban in Hungary – not to mention the recently departed Donald J. Centre left or centre right parties of old seem to be in retreat offering their angry voters nothing more than same old same old. If this is a correct world picture, then it is a gloomy one and perhaps an authority such as Michael Burleigh, professor of History and International Affairs can cast a penetrating light into the murk.
His new book, ‘Populism Before and After the Pandemic’ aims to explore the new global era of national populism. Based on his recent LSE lectures, the work brings us right up to date – or almost (his deadline stopped short of this new post vaccine world). The book is more of an extended essay, a tract in the old-fashioned Left Book Club sense. At a mere 98 pages, the good prof follows a highly ambitious agenda: a broad overview of the populist leaders of today, a focus on Russia and Britain (for this read Putin and Johnson) and a shot at examining the effects of the pandemic on the world’s pop presidents and prime ministers.
His style is surprising light but not always in a good way. There is a something of the newspaper columnist in him (he does indeed contribute to the The Times, Telegraph, Daily Mail etc). Hence his dismissal of Boris Johnson as ‘Britain’s publicity-seeking prime minister’ who came to prominence by ‘writing lies about straight bananas and condoms for fishermen’ but more importantly, ‘as a mop-haired comedian’ on TV shows. Why did the British vote for such a man? Burleigh suggests that in part at least it is because, ‘the class-obsessed British have always been suckers for articulate toffs, like Johnson or the absurd Mr Mogg, the Honorable Member for the eighteenth century’. In Burleigh’s world we clearly deserve what we wish for and are blind to the machinations of powerful media billionaires who make a mint out of promoting shock-jock radio and internet channels that spew opprobrium against saner more inclusive politicians. For good measure he throws in the re-writing of national histories in countries such as Hungary (where former S.S. collaborators are awarded celebratory statues as patriots) and of course dark arts lobbying from regular ‘bad guys’ such as Israel and Gulf states.
His chapter on Russia and Britain posits that both are in the throws of post Imperial decline where the national role has been muddied by humiliating loss. Brexit, he suggests, was in large part dominated by megaphone demagogues like Farage offering Britons a new role as global buccaneers where every citizen can become a neo Francis Drake.
If these arguments seem familiar to you, as they did to me, then you might join me in being a touch disappointed in Burleigh’s analysis. Much of it seems to be retread and retro with a focus on the ‘bad guys’ of modern populism. True he touches on what appears to be populism in some retreat (we are after all in a new Biden age) but seems more interested in the mechanics of the forward and backward gears rather than a deeper analysis of historical cycles. Perhaps we are too close to the events to really understand why Putin, Netanyahu, and the ruling parties in Poland etc seem to evade overthrow. He does rightly draw attention to the role of ‘mass anger’ in stoking up populist sentiment – think of the pro-Trump mob on January 6 – and is certainly correct in saying that this electoral fume is orchestrated by the very elites that ordinary folk rail against. He goes on to suggest that ‘dark money’ and seditious lobbying are also ingredients in this unpalatable mixture.
Whilst it is hard to disagree with Burleigh’s arguments, I can’t help but feel we have heard all this before. I was looking for more surprising analysis here, something to illuminate a dark alleyway rather than add a table lamp to the living room. The machinations of billionaires, the fear of migrants, the loss of international prestige, the power of the media……..yes and yes, but what else? We don’t get to hear what populism means to the woman or man in the side street. Are we so easily mesmerised by these manipulative ministers of mayhem? And why now? What are the global forces that have pushed populist politics to the fore – forces that weren’t there say in the 80s or 90s? Or were they? We may have to wait for another book on populism to provide some surprising answers.
