The Rise of Populism, the Demise of the Neoliberal and Neoconservative Globalist Projects, and the War on Human Rights

ABSTRACT

For many, the “Trump phenomenon” represents an authoritarian phase of the neoliberal project. For others, it is a manifestation of a broader populist project that is the antithesis of, and arises in part as a reaction against, neoliberalism. Across Europe, political parties hitherto identified with the Far Right and thus beyond the margins of “respectable” politics have sought to reinvent themselves as legitimate voices within this populist framework. The UK “Brexit” vote and the policies of the May administration further suggest a coalition emerging around the Far Right and those on the nationalist wing of conservatism, putting them at odds with the neoliberals and neoconservatives who have dominated the political Right for some time, and who have been the principal drivers of capitalist globalization. This begs the question—does the new populism signal the end of the globalization project? And what, if anything, can the Left do in response?

KEYWORDS:

• Globalization
• human rights
• neoconservatism
• neoliberalism
• populism

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on Contributor

Darren J. O’Byrne is Reader in Sociology and Human Rights and Director of the Crucible Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Roehampton in London. He is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading scholars in the fields of globalization theory and the sociology of human rights. His publications have for the most part been in these two areas, and in the field of critical social theory. His books include The Dimensions of Global Citizenship (2003), Theorizing Global Studies (2011, with Alexander Hensby) and Human Rights in a Globalizing World (2015). He was the founding Chairperson of the Global Studies Association.