Sterling Professor of Political Science and Global Affairs Ian Shapiro as an article on the London School of Economics and Political Science website entitled “How the post-Cold War mistakes made by Western leaders paved the way for populism.”
Abstract:
For many commentators and politicians, the end of the Cold War was thought to mark the start of a period of prosperity and political stability. But conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and the rise of populism over the last three decades have shown that the 1990s were not the end of history. Ian Shapiro looks at the decisions made by politicians in the West in the aftermath of the end of the Cold War, writing that by ignoring the lessons of the post-World War II settlement, they set the stage for the far-right populism of the last decade.
The optimism that swept much of the world after 1989 is a distant memory. Scores of recent elections have made it abundantly clear that the hard-right populism that emerged a decade ago was no passing aberration. Far right parties have made large gains almost everywhere, transforming them from fringe irritants into major players who have redefined the terrain of political competition. The post-World War II international order has also come unstuck, undermined by resurgent economic and political nationalisms that have left the WTO, the UN, and NATO on life-support.