Post-truth Politics
| Date | 01 December 2016 |
| Published date | 01 December 2016 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2041905816680417 |
| Author | Jane Suiter |
DECEMBER 2016 • POLITICAL INSIGHT 25
Post-truth Politics
From Brexit to Donald Trump, 2016 has been the year of the populist.
Jane Suiter asks why populism is on the rise and what politics means
in a ‘post-truth’ world.
If there is a dominant theme across
western democracies in the years since
the Great Recession it is one of concern.
From the US to Europe there are signs
that the centre is hollowing out as populist
extremes of the right and left are ourishing.
In
Foreign Policy
,
The New York Times
and
The
Economist
authors anxiously declare that ‘the
forces of disintegration are on the march’ and
‘the foundations of the post-war world … are
trembling’. Even the usually cautious World
Economic Forum warned earlier this year that
the liberal world order ‘is being challenged by
a variety of forces — by powerful authoritarian
governments and anti-liberal fundamentalist
movements’.
Symptoms
The symptoms are well known. In the US,
Donald Trump challenged the conventional
thinking on political campaigns by
reimagining the process as a new reality
TV show. In the UK, a centrist government
pandering to right wing populists accidentally
facilitated Brexit, while in France, Nicolas
Sarkozy moves ever closer to Marine Le Pen.
Poland, Hungary, and Israel are all heading
away from liberalism. And the list goes on.
So what is happening? The answer is
complex. Arguably, what we are witnessing
is a toxic combination of policy blunders on
austerity, war and globalisation coupled with
a new hybrid media and political system
dominated by reality TV, social media and
lter bubbles. Combined with what has been
dubbed ‘post-truth politics’: where appeals to
emotion are dominant and factual rebuttals
or fact checks are ignored on the basis that
they are mere assertions. This combination
arguably results in the emergence of swathes
of expressive voters moved by dangerous
rhetoric and nativism. The swirling impact of
these variables has helped undermine the
legitimacy of the liberal order, opening the
door to illiberal forces and increasing the
potency of populist and nationalist appeals.
Arguments about the accelerating pace
of globalisation and deregulation are well
rehearsed. The force of globalisation left
many losers in its wake; losers who were not
particularly well represented by their centrist
politicians in the rst place. Many lacked the
educational opportunities needed to thrive in
a globalised world and live with less security
and lower wages than their parents’ generation.
These concerns were rarely centre stage
among the political elite. The serious impact
of deregulation is also notable from the tax
arrangements of multinational corporations
through the bailing out of deregulated banks
to the direct experience of austerity among
the people. As Branko Milanovic of New York’s
City University argues, the rising inequality so
apparent across much of the developed world,
can lead to upheaval and even war. This is what
Political Insight December 2016.indd 25 31/10/2016 14:28
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