The politics of our time Populism, nationalism, socialism

Talking Points Memo editor Judis compiles and updates his three most recent books in this lucid examination of political movements that have emerged in the U.S. and Europe over the past few decades in response to the failures of neoliberalism. In "The Populist Explosion," Judis examines how free trade agreements, regulatory rollbacks, welfare cuts, and austerity measures harmed working-class "left-behinds" and "disillusioned young college graduates" alike, paving the way for the rise of populists on both the right (Donald Trump, Hungary's Viktor Orbán) and the left (Bernie Sanders, Italy's Five Star Movement). "The Nationalist Revival" explains how right-wing populists target "outgroups," such as Muslims and immigrants, and takes liberals to task for failing to address such events as the outsourcing of jobs to China and an influx of asylum seekers from the war-torn Middle East that have fueled nativism in the U.S. and Europe. In "The Socialist Awakening," Judis looks at how the 2008 Great Recession, climate change, and fading memories of the Soviet Union have contributed to the emergence of a new kind of socialism that rejects class conflict and aims to reform capitalism rather than oppose it. Though dry, Judis's wide-ranging study draws informative connections between disparate world events. Readers will walk away with a firmer grasp on current affairs. (May)

A sobering assessment of recent history as a string of poorly managed catastrophes. Gathering and updating three previously published reports, Judis voices an intriguing thesis: that "all the decades of modern history--beset by the emergence of rival nation-states and imperialisms, the ups and downs of global capitalism, war, and natural disasters--can be described as times of crisis." One of the increasingly evident trends Judis identifies is the democratic world's willingness to slide into authoritarianism as a response to these challenges. That tendency comes from both left and right, which agree on a few points, especially inequality and the problems of globalism and neoliberalism. To these the right adds "an exclusionary nationalism that limited who was included in 'the people,' and charged elites with coddling an outsider group of illegal immigrants, refugees, or Muslims." The American exponent of such values, Donald Trump, gained office because of his appeal to those left behind by economic progress. However, the author also argues that Hillary Clinton "ran an extraordinarily inept campaign (ignoring those areas of the country that had been hard hit by neoliberal neglect)." Judis reaches back several decades to identify the origins of the modern revivals of populism and nationalism on the one hand and socialism on the other. One proponent of a recognizably modern nationalism was Ross Perot, who led the race against Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush until losing credibility by claiming that "the Black Panther Party, on contract with the Viet Cong, had once tried to break into his house." But then, as Judis notes in his on-the-ground reporting from Arizona on the promulgation of new exclusionary laws in 2010, he observed that many people were in mortal fear that "al-Qaeda operatives were sneaking across the border." The author projects that the class and geographical (urban vs. rural) divide is likely to grow, and with it, the problems he so cogently analyzes. Readers with an interest in global political trends will want to consult this skillfully argued book. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.