The Perils of Populism

From Donald Trump in the U.S. to Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, and Narendra Modi in India, right-wing populist leaders have taken power in many parts of the world. While each country’s populist movement is distinct, they are united by several key features, including the presence of a boastful strongman leader and the scapegoating of vulnerable populations, especially immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ people, and women.
 
The Perils of Populism shows how a feminist lens can help diagnose the factors behind the global rise of right-wing populism and teach us how to resist the threat it presents to democracy. Featuring interdisciplinary essays about politics in the United States, the Middle East, Europe, and India from a variety of acclaimed theorists and activists, the volume contributes to a rapidly expanding literature on gender and the far right. Together, these chapters offer a truly intersectional analysis of the problem, addressing everything from how populism has thrived in a “post-truth” era to the ways it appeals to working-class voters looking for an alternative to neoliberalism. Yet the authors also find reasons to be hopeful, as they showcase forms of grassroots feminist activism that challenge right-wing populism by advocating for racial and economic justice.

SARAH TOBIAS is associate director of the Institute for Research on Women at Rutgers University and affiliate faculty in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department. She is co-editor of Trans Studies: The Challenge to Hetero/Homo Normativities, which won the 2017 Sylvia Rivera Award.

ARLENE STEIN directs the Institute for Research on Women at Rutgers University, where she is also a distinguished professor of Sociology. She has published books about rightwing populism in the US and about Holocaust memory, among other subjects. Her latest book is Unbound: Transgender Men and the Transformation of Identity.