Western European Neo-populism

Since the 1980s，an ideological trend of neo-populism has risen in western European countries.On the one hand，new left-wing parties launched new social movements like environmentalism，feminism and anti-nuclearism.These parties kept entering the political system and showed different political styles from that of traditional parties.On the other hand，right-wing populist parties rose rapidly and once even entered the mainstream politics of Western Europe，demanding political reconstruction on issues including taxation，immigration and decentralization.In recent years，populist movement in Western Europe has developed unprecedentedly in France，Switzerland and Denmark.In Italy，Austria and the Netherlands，populist parties have even formed their first cabinets.Not only have the emerging populist parties succeeded，but also traditional political parties in Western Europe are increasingly adopting the populist styles，emphasizing the political star effect and direct interaction with the public via the media （instead of the parliament）.^[14] Populist parties in Western Europe have proposed that the sovereignty of the people has been seized by politicians，bureaucrats，elites of the EU and even “the others” and representative system and covert operations have distorted democracy，and as “real democrats”，they want to regain the sovereignty of the people from politicians，bureaucrats and “the others” on behalf of the people.^[15]

After examining the usage of populism，we can find that there is a lack of an internally unified historical pedigree among populist examples.Apart from sharing the label of “populism”，the connection among them is more based on a “historical contingency”.Populism is endowed with different connotations and extensions in different contexts，thus showing the change in the semantic focus and the lack of an internal continuity.In specific contexts，many scholars have made reasonable and clear definitions of “populism” and formed relatively mature theoretical systems.However，when analyzing populist phenomena in other countries or other contexts，such “tailor-made” definitions of populism are hard to hold.For example，if we analyze neo-populist phenomena in Western Europe with the concept of populism in the context of Marxism，we will be awkward because the former mainly reflects the attachment to farmers and traditional village communities，while the latter does not have such attribute；instead，it shows the characteristics of narrow nationalism and opposition to foreign immigrants （the others）.Similarly，we will meet the same problem when analyzing America ’s Populist Party with the concept of populism in the context of Latin America because the former is a political strategy for charismatic leaders to gain and use political power，while the latter is a radical farmers ’ movement launched by farmers from the bottom up.The concept of populism in different contexts seems to lack the greatest common denominator.When we try to explain populism in different contexts with a unified concept，we will find ourselves unable to give a satisfaction explanation.