Is Europe’s Future Populist?

12.00 - 18.00

Thursday 21 March

REGISTER HERE

Once again, it seems that populism is the bogeyman on the lips of European politicos. With this conference, we want to bring together open-minded academics, politicians, commentators and thinkers from across Europe to ask why populism seems to have returned, what’s driving it, and whether Europe should embrace or marginalise populist forces.  

At a time when both anger at elites and elite derision of those who criticise them seems at a renewed crescendo, our aim is to bring together inquiring minds from across the political divides and try and shed light on a burning issue facing Europe.  

The farmers’ movement is sweeping Europe. Many predict a rightward shift in the elections. And there is a renewed fear of right-wing national populism in parties like the AfD. It seems clear that populism as a force is not going away. Our conference is an attempt to understand what drives populist sentiment, why those in power are so dismissive of the concerns of those who vote for populists, and how Europeans should respond.

Sessions include: 

  • Keynote speech: Professor Matthew Goodwin: Populism and the elites
  • Abandoned voters: Why we can’t dismiss populism
  • On the march? Prospects for populism across Europe

Speakers: 

  • Petra Andits, Seal of Excellence Fellow, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
  • Sabine Beppler-Spahl, chair Freiblickinstitut (Berlin), Germany correspondent, Spiked
  • Frank Furedi, executive director, MCC Brussels
  • Monika Gabriela Bartoszewicz, Associate Professor, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
  • Ulrike Guerot, Professor of European Policy, University of Bonn; founder, European Democracy Lab
  • Matthew Goodwin, Professor of Politics and International Relations, University of Kent ; author, Values, Virtues, Voice
  • Mick Hume, author, Democracy Watch, European Conservative
  • Francisco José Contrera, Professor of Philosophy of Law, University of Seville
  • Ralph Schoellhamer, Assistant Professor in Political Science and Economics, Webster Vienna Private University; visiting fellow, MCC
  • Jeremy Stubbs, journalist; author, deputy editorial director, Causeur
  • Sergio Velasco, political scientist, analyst and political commentator; founder, Filosofia Política
  • Charlie Weimers MEP

REGISTER HERE

 

Full programme: 

 

12.00 – 13.00
Registration and lunch

13.00 – 13.15
Opening remarks

  • Professor Frank Furedi, executive director, MCC Brussels

13.15 – 14.30
Panel 1: Abandoned voters: Why we can’t dismiss populism

  • Charlie Weimers MEP
  • Mick Hume, author, Democracy Watch, European Conservative
  • Monika Gabriela Bartoszewicz, Associate Professor, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
  • Jeremy Stubbs, journalist; author, deputy editorial director, Causeur

Populism is often presented as if it were a moral failing of the electorate. Blame might also be cast on devious politicians who stir up animosity towards minority groups or the European Union – but, on the whole, the problem is said to lie with the growing intolerance of voters.

Rarely do analyses focus on the failings of the political mainstream. One question that is barely addressed is why have traditional parties become so alienated from the people who would vote for them.

Populism, however, should be seen as something of a wake up call. It is less that voters have drifted towards xenophobia and more that – on a host of issues from migration to economics, culture to agriculture – politicians have abandoned voters in favour of a range of progressive ideas.

This session will explore what the real reasons are for the ‘populist shift’ in European politics and ask whether populism has more to do with voters being abandoned by traditional parties than any supposed resurgence of intolerant attitudes.

14.30 – 15.00
Coffee break 

15.00 – 16.15
Panel 2: On the march? Prospects for populism across Europe

  • Francisco José Contrera, Professor of Philosophy of Law, University of Seville
  • Ulrike Guerot, Professor of European Policy, University of Bonn; founder, European Democracy Lab
  • Ralph Schoellhamer, Assistant Professor in Political Science and Economics, Webster Vienna Private University, visiting fellow, MCC
  • Sergio Velasco, political scientist, analyst and political commentator; founder, Filosofia Política

The upcoming European Parliament elections have focused the minds of European elites. According to many polls, populist parties are set to deliver strong results. In response, there has been much handwringing about the renewed ‘threat’ of populism, and European leaders have sought to make ‘concessions’ to majority views on issues ranging from migration, agriculture and EU reform.

But it seems as if many are minded to reject these attempts to ‘buy off’ voters. Farmers protests continue across the continent and polls show increasing exasperation with the failure to get to grips with migration.

Will populism play a key role in upcoming elections and beyond? What issues promise to unite populists from very different corners of the continent? Is there anything to learn from the different populist forces in a variety of countries? Ultimately, is populist sentiment just a response to a variety of local issues, or does the populist moment reflect anything about the state of politics within European nations more generally?

16.15 – 16.45 
Coffee

16.45 – 18.00 
Keynote: Matthew Goodwin: Populism and the elites

  • Matthew Goodwin, Professor of Politics and International Relations, University of Kent ; author, Values, Virtues, Voice

Respondents: 

  • Petra Andits, Seal of Excellence Fellow, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
  • Sabine Beppler-Spahl, chair Freiblickinstitut (Berlin), Germany correspondent, Spiked

We are often told that populist politicians draw a false distinction between ‘the people’ and ‘the elites’ – seeking to blame the latter for society’s problems. But the enduring appeal of anti-elite sentiment should give us pause for thought.

Professor Matthew Goodwin has spent many years investigating populism across Europe, and his latest book makes a detailed case for believing that the ‘populist myth’ is in fact quite true. Across a host of indicators, new elites differ dramatically from the mass of society, and have attempted to use social institutions to remake their countries in their own image.

Many suggest that the political dynamic in the west is increasingly moving beyond old ‘left vs right’ binaries and towards a new split between establishment and anti-establishment forces. This session will look at whether populists are more correct than they are given credit for when they identify ‘elites’ as being at the heart of many of Europe’s gravest problems.

18.00
Conference reception