Global democracy as a response to anti-globalism, nationalism and far-right populism
Development in Sweden
Photo by Calvin Hanson via Unsplash
In his recent book “Den hotade demokratin. Så kan den räddas i populismens tid” (The threatened democracy. How it can be saved in the time of populism), writer and veteran politician (Liberal Party) Olle Wästberg is writing about problems and challenges for democracy in Sweden, Europe and globally.
One of the book’s central aspects is that populism is also a result of different problems and challenges with modern democracy. Wästberg argues that the rise of far-right populism in Sweden also depends on social changes and institutional problems since the 1990s, such as that fewer Swedes are members of political parties in general and that there is a strong absence of direct democracy and popular referendums as at local levels.
In the book, Wästberg is also writing about globalism and what could happen if the far-right populist and nationalist party Sweden Democrats would come into power.
Sweden is often seen as one of the most democratic and globalised societies and nations worldwide. Regarding globalism as an ideology of nations integrating, cooperating and networking through common institions, rules and markets Wästbetg argues that anti-globalism is also about nationalist and populist views of liberal (constitutional) democracy seen as preventing and limiting majority decision-making as via human rights, economic rules and international institutions and supranational entities as the European Union.
Anti-globalism contributes to for example far-right populists and nationalists being climate change deniers and, in general against climate change and environmental policies. This behaviour also takes place because there is no national sovereignty in climate change, a world problem that has to be solved through global and multi-level governance and sovereignty.
Another aspect of anti-globalism is that far-right political organisations are against ideas of the global economy and policies that favour large and global companies and economic flows. Instead, far-right politics is also about economic nationalism wanting to more or less limit economic developments as trade, migration and finance to nations. According to Wästberg, for the far-right Sweden Democrats, the goal is that nationalism and their idea of “Swedishness” will replace globalisation, international solidarity, and Sweden’s status as an EU country.
When it comes to democracy and the Swedish parliamentarian system, Wästberg argues that Sweden Democrats are not aiming for directly abolishing democracy and enforcing dictatorship in a scenario of having a parliamentarian majority. Instead, the Sweden Democrats are seeking other measures such as closing borders and stopping all immigration, taking over control of public institutions like courts and media. Wästberg argues that Sweden Democrats would like to perform a similar scenario as Viktor Orban and the Fidesz party have done in Hungary.
Wästberg writes that despite that Sweden Democrats have changed from being a neo-nazi party to a nationalist party, many of the party’s earlier ambitions are still in place. Their members are in general not using older racist (perceptions about human biology) and sociophobic language as they did during the 1990s by saying “kick out the blackheads (or immigrants)” but instead saying things as “preventing immigration from remote cultures” and “returning non-adapting persons”.
Another case for Sweden Democrats political ambitions are regarding identity politics and views on collective identification. Sweden Democrats are against human rights, something that was manifested in 2017 when the party awarded the former liberal and nowadays far-right thinker, Vaclav Klaus. What Sweden Democrat means with their idea of “recreating a common national identity” is about creating Sweden without human rights, democracy and Muslims. Also, with their nationalist identity politics, Sweden Democrats are also demanding that all Swedes, including those without immigration history, will have to assimilate to what Sweden Democrats see as “true” national identity.
Wästberg argues that what unites populists on the left and right is their resistance against globalisation. Therefore, according to Wästberg the case should be that politics also becomes internationalised where “we would get more democratically elected institutions that can handle international problems and work in favour of reduction of international cleavages”.
Wästberg argues that people should be familiar with that they can influence development outside their own countries when countries and governments mean less in relation to global problems and challenges. This reasoning is in line with ideas of the establishment of a World Parliament and representative democracy at the world level.