“Populism exists because institutions are elite-driven,” but democracies don’t work well without elites, says the acclaimed author of The End of Hist…
Francis Fukuyama is an American political scientist most known for his book The End of History and the Last Man. His most recent book is Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy. He spoke with Alexander Görlach for The WorldPost last week in Palo Alto, Calif. about U. S. President Donald Trump , the populist wave sweeping Europe and “fake news.”
How would you sum up the last year? What has happened to the world order?
The big surprise is that this wave of populist nationalism has happened in the home territory of classic, liberalist Anglo-Saxon areas. For the first time, at least in my time, there is a president who openly dismisses America’s role in a liberal world order. The other problem with Donald Trump is his utter lack of qualification for the job, be it preparation, character or temperament. Nothing since his inauguration has eased any of those concerns, either…
So what would you tell the people that say that he just is a tip of the iceberg, representing a repressed, white rural demographic?
Well, the majority of Americans voted against him. He has emotional support from a small group of people, but nothing close to the majority of the country behind him. The interesting aspect to his presidency for me is the role of the Republicans in this. When do they stall and say: “Enough is enough!?” It hasn’t happened yet, and won’t change as long as things stay good in the economy. Since the inauguration, he’s actually ridden a wave of good economic developments, so he may be able to use that to turn around his popularity ratings.
We know that when British Prime Minister Theresa May came to visit Trump, he congratulated her on the result of the Brexit referendum. Does his opinion influence the behavior of voters overseas, especially in the Netherlands and France, where elections will soon be happening?
It’s complicated. On one hand, the leaders there, of course, enjoy the praise of the U. S. president. On the other, you have a good amount of anti-Americanism in Europe. People are saying, “we don’t want a Trump in our country.” That, for example, has been a mitigating factor against Geert Wilders , the anti-immigrant politician in the Netherlands. So I think it is an influence, but it won’t be decisive.
Is this wave of populism pushing European institutions into a crisis?
The institutions, admittedly, haven’t [been] working well, but there’s also a problem with the narrative. But, in effect, it describes the feeling that the European electorate has lost faith in the institutions ― the Schengen Agreement , for example, that allows free movement of people across borders within that zone.
What is your solution that accommodates both people who have lost faith in their institutions as well as ultra-left people who want open borders?
That’s a tough question. If I was the German chancellor, I would focus a lot on Italy and Greece.
