Knyazeva Svetlana Evgen’evna – Ph.D. in History, Associate Professor, Faculty of International Relatons, Political Sciences and Foreign Regional Studies, RSUH
Approval or rejection of the socio-cultural and political model of European liberal democracy became nowadays a demarcation line in the European space, which manifested itself in modern election campaigns. But the influence of the systemic crisis of liberal democracy on the strengthening positions of new populism in Europe, in particular, through their electoral activity, isn’t sufficiently reflected in the expert literature. The main goal of this research is to analyze the interdependence between the crisis of modern liberal democracy and the onset of a new populism: the decline in the attractiveness of the axiological model of liberal democracy draws attention of the disappointed voters of Old Eastern Europe to the values broadcasted by populist leaders. The author examines the reasons for the electoral success of the new populists, with a focus on the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. Considerable attention is paid to the specifics of discourse and manipulative techniques of the new populists applied to attract the electorate. In addition, the task of the paper is to demonstrate what challenges of European society are responded most quickly by the new populists. The advent of the illiberal political cycle and the transit of the European liberal system is driven by challenges of globalism and the postmodernist paradigm imposed by the new world elites. On this track, the populists are successful. Nevertheless, the author makes a cautious conclusion: it is probable that the search for new forms of social organization and populists’s electoral activities in the countries of Old Eastern Europe do not indicate the widespread expansion of their influence, and even if populists ever come to power, the long-term preservation of their regimes is unlikely, even if their leaders are integrated into European politics.
liberal democracy, postmodern paradigm, Old Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe elections, electoral activities, new right populism, challenges of globalism, manipulative techniques, populist discourse, rightwing radicals, new populist leaders
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