Danger of populism

By Zerougui Abdelkader

We all assumed World Wars I and II taught humanity the basic lesson that death and destruction are best left in the past, and that the United Nations and its international economic and legal organizations are meant to prevent such atrocities from happening again. However, the world since Sept. 11, 2001, seems to reflect a whole different picture and Armageddon is no longer a fiction, but a possibility.

The continuous conflicts in the Middle East ― from the fragmentation of Libya in semi-emirates, to the destruction of Yemen and the continuous civil war in Syria, as well as economic problems in the Arab world ― have not just destroyed basic socio-economic institutions, but created a wave of human migration that in fact threatens Europe and the Americas, as thousands of people fleeing the war zones "threatened" the social and cultural fabrics of other countries. This climate of uncertainty has fueled the right-wing agenda, and whether it is a threat or not, it is making Europe more and more anti-immigration, and called multiculturalism a danger to social and democratic values of these countries.

The Trump administration has pushed the agenda even further, by threatening even its close allies. The slogan of "America first," puts into question the rest of the world. The Trump administration stopped or defunded hundreds of programs for refugees and the needy, and called for a stronger approach in international relations, by revising trade relations with the rest of the world and declaring a trade war with Asian and European countries as well, a new protectionist policy that is similar to the one that accentuated the 1929 crash.

The U.S. policy is now even preparing to revise not only immigration laws, but citizenship as well. Hundreds of people will be stripped from their citizenship. The rise of fear and uncertainty is encouraging the spread of anti-immigrant sentiment, and people who do happen to be of a non-white descent are the first casualties of the Trump administration's crusade. The unilateral decisions by the U.S., and the continuous threat of war in the Middle East, especially after the scrapping of the nuclear deal with Iran, threaten the international order that was celebrated after the collapse of what former U.S. President Ronald Reagan called the "Evil Empire."

The U.S. is deviating from its republican values to a more populist regime, that is no different from Nazi Germany. Intimidating opposition, cronyism, redrawing maps and abusing the laws that were the ideals of the founding fathers of this great nation.

Steve Bannon ― the former White House chief adviser and strong supporter of Trump ― is on the verge of establishing a European think tank to advance his populist agenda there.

The signs in the present point to a bleak future. People become more and more convinced that their problems reside with the "others" who are coming to take over their wealth, that some religions and cultures are dangerous and some people are born violent. If the world does not wake up to the rise of populism, we will all suffer including the ones behind Trumpism.

The writer is an adjunct professor at American University. Write to zerouguiabdelkader@yahoo.com.