Undermining the West from Within: European Populists, the Us and Russia

Abstract

Populist parties of the Right and Left are on the rise in Western Europe, but little has been said about their foreign policy positions. This article outlines the basic elements of the positions of some important radical Right and Left populist parties on transatlantic relations, NATO, European security and EU-Russia relations. An examination of these positions reveals that European populist parties of the Right and Left are united by a common aversion to the ongoing modernisation and liberalisation of society and the economy—and that this aversion is reflected in foreign policies that conceptually and practically challenge the notion of the West. The centre-right is urged not to let populists appropriate yet another issue. Instead, it needs to challenge them (and particularly the populist Left) by consistently defending the merits of the Western community of values.