The woeful record of populist governments in dealing with COVID-19 is unlikely to convince voters New Zealand should emulate them.
In this August 2016 photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, right, welcomes pro-Brexit British politician Nigel Farage to speak at a campaign rally in Jackson, Miss.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Most populists are only against the system, they aren’t for anything in particular, as Donald Trump’s presidency and Brexit proves. A progressive wave will soon be upon us in response.
France’s Marine Le Pen has failed to make an impact during the pandemic.
EPA/Yoan Valat
Sarah Gensburger, Université Paris Nanterre – Université Paris Lumières
As the Black Lives Matter movement has , statues of figures linked to slavery have been removed. Such actions are just symbolic, however. What is at stake is the systemic transformation of the present.
Hanson has been largely unsuccessful in seeing her signature policies realised. But she has helped normalise xenophobia and racism and thus had a disproportionate influence on the national debate.
Out and about: Jair Bolsanaro waves to supporters during a rally in Brasilia on April 19.
Joedson Alves/EPA
Jair Bolsonaro has ignored and openly challenged the advice of health authorities, sacked his health minister and tried to use the pandemic for political gain.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Salvatore di Nolfi/EPA
If enacted, the funding cuts may cause the WHO to go bankrupt in the middle of a pandemic. Trump's move also signals the US is no longer prepared to provide a leadership role in global health issues.
Populist leaders can be a liability. Their optimistic bias and complacency, ambiguity, and ignorance of science undermine crisis management and put all at risk.
Covid-19 awareness event at a government hospital in Siliguri, Bengal on 21 February 2020.
Diptendu Dutta/AFP
The COVID-19 pandemic must be managed in India in a tense economic context and with a largely privatised health system.
A British Columbia motorist approaches the U.S. port of entry into Blaine, Wash., at a very quiet Douglas-Peace Arch border crossing on the day Ottawa and Washington announced the Canada-U.S. border will be closed to non-essential traffic because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Unlike older visions of economic democracy which started with class or the collective, the starting point now should be the individual
L'appel des camps, Street Art, bâtiment de la “Tour Paris 13”, avant destruction dans le cadre d’une opération de rénovation urbaine.
Jeanne Menjoulet/Flickr
Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, Graduate Institute – Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID) and Davide Rodogno, Graduate Institute – Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID)
We have entered a resurgent age of racism wherein discrimination is globalised, normalised and weaponised.
Professor of Comparative Political Science and Democracy Research at the Humboldt University Berlin; Associate of the Sydney Democracy Network, University of Sydney; Director of Research Unit Democracy: Structures, Performance, Challenges, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.