'Moments of Trouble' in Democracies

• In Event: Globalization, Populism and Democracy

Abstract

The paper begins to theorize the continual interconnectedness of nationalism, gender, and the economic, which it defines as three of the most significant dimensions of governance. It further considers the role of populism in catalysing change in the three dimensions, and begins to situate its theorizing within the literature of democratization. In so doing, the paper develops the concept of the ‘golden triangle,’ which represents the sense in which change in one dimension of governance must cause change in the other two. The twofold corollary is that balance between the three dimensions is necessary to sustainable democratic governance, but also that ‘moments of trouble’ will often occur when inevitable change in one dimension precipitates change in the other two. Indeed, the paper argues that populism is especially effective at catalysing this change, and that a successful, established liberal democracy necessarily fosters the conditions for the rise of populism. At the same time, globalization exacerbates these conditions, destabilizing long-sustained balance at several points in the interrelations of gender, nation, and the economic. The paper conducts its analysis by means of historical case studies from Japan, Germany, and Hungary, together with more recent cases from the Hungarian election of 2020. It is important to stress that the paper is preliminary, and is intended to form part of a much larger and longer study toward anticipating forms of domination that are irreconcilable with democratic governance but masked by dominant approaches in social science research.

Author

• Judit Fabian, University of Ottawa