Liberal universalism in crisis: The nationalist populist challenge of transnational political standards

ABSTRACT The explanation of the right-wing populist attack on transnational standards of pluralism and cooperation as caused by unsolved problems of the economic structure is often disputed by regarding populism a “cultural backlash” supported by groups now deprived of their former predominant position by new universalist standards. However, the “cultural” explanation disregards the historical fact that antiliberal backlash in the direction of authoritarianism, nationalism, scapegoating, anti-migration has frequently followed severe economic crises and the preceding erosion of integrating political legitimacy sources. The weakness of the liberal political discourse position is at its core a knowledge crisis in the face of the failure of its own universalist agenda, while the transnational populist regression to particularism is rather its effect.