How is the rise of populism changing Europe’s political dynamics? What lies ahead after the fall of Sudan’s longtime dictator? Do recent elections in Southeast Asia point to a consolidation of illiberal rule?
A cluster of four articles on recent elections in Southeast Asia considers whether authoritarian and illiberal forces are strengthening their hold in the region:
- Edward Aspinall and Marcus Mietzner consider whether national elections in Indonesia marked a parting of ways between pluralism and broader democratic norms;
- Duncan McCargo explores the flawed electoral process that yielded victory for supporters of Thailand’s ruling junta;
- Björn Dressel and Cristina Regina Bonoan examine the troubling implications of President Rodrigo Duterte’s gains in the Philippines’ midterm elections; and
- Mark R. Thompson offers an overall assessment of developments in the region.
A second cluster examines how, as Europe grapples with populism, the deeper dynamics of national and EU politics are changing:
- Assessing the 2019 EU elections, Cas Mudde argues that the framing of immigration since 2015 has shifted the center of political debate;
- Anna Grzymala-Busse analyzes the role of mainstream-party failures in the rise of European populism;
- Patrick Chamorel reflects on the growing class, cultural, and geographic divisions revealed by France’s Yellow Vest protest movement.
Plus: How has India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) been able to increase its parliamentary majority and reshape the political scene?
- Ashutosh Varshney scrutinizes the 2019 Indian elections and the rise of “Hindu majoritarianism;”
- Yamini Aiyar shows how welfare politics has become “an important ingredient in the BJP’s unique brand of populism.”
Also in the October 2019 issue:
- Rod Alence and Anne Pitcher survey the resistance that brought down former South African president Jacob Zuma, accused of “capturing” the South African state;
- Mai Hassan and Ahmed Kodouda discuss mass protests, a military coup, and the prospects for democracy in Sudan;
- Amr Hamzawy weighs popular political attitudes and the factors behind Egypt’s return to authoritarianism; and
- Sara Goodman reviews Sheri Berman’s Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe.
View the full Table of Contents at www.journalofdemocracy.org.
