Chained Together: National Populism and the Working Class in the Era of Globalization

O neoft hepa r ado x e sofo urfu llof c o ntr o v e rs ie sa n dd r a st i c c ha ng e se r aw a s t heun io nfo r medb y n a t io n a lpop ul i stsa n da certain group of workers who just a few decades ago had been stalwart proponents of left-wing parties. Workers were the ones who secured Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential elections and also were responsible for the rise of such populist parties as the National Rally (formerly, the National Front) and the Freedom Party of Austria in Europe. This paper is an attempt to analyze the reasons behind this alliance, the nature of relationships between workers and far-right populists and the prospects of cooperation in the future. In particular, there is an indication that the negative effects of globalization (delocation of production, increasing social inequality, and etc.), an actual switch by social democratic and center-left parties to neoliberalist views and an active utilization of social rhetoric by the “new right” politics have caused a certain part of workers to join their ranks. However, having secured the power, these national populist parties and politics mostly carried out reforms that favored the interests of business rather than those of ordinary voters. At the same time, a conclusion is drawn that the alliance between far-right populist parties and workers will continue in the near future. Both the crisis amidst “old” leftwing parties and social and economic problems will contribute to this eff ct.