COLUMNS

When Populist Nationalists Tempt Geopolitical Fate

undefined and VP of Global Analysis
Reva Goujon
VP of Global Analysis, Stratfor

Aug 15, 2019 | 09:00 GMT

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers a speech to the nation during a ceremony to celebrate the country's 73rd Independence Day, which marks the of the end of British colonial rule, at New Delhi's Red Fort on Aug. 15, 2019.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers a speech to the nation during a ceremony to celebrate the country's 73rd Independence Day, which marks the of the end of British colonial rule, at New Delhi's Red Fort on Aug. 15, 2019. Populist-nationalists get away with a lot -- despite the seeming constraints to engaging in action that could have big consequences down the road.

(PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • U.S. President Donald Trump, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have been providing ample evidence as to why the campaign promises and election manifestos of latter-day populist-nationalists should not be easily dismissed as mere rhetoric that will be tempered once in office. 
  • In claiming to be the vox populi for a narrow segment of the population, populist-nationalists will claim an outsize political mandate that makes them far more willing to defy traditional constraints.
  • But when populist-nationalists rely on tribalism to strengthen a nation in their own image, they may also end up fundamentally threatening the geopolitical foundation of their states. 

Despite being explicit in their rhetoric, the actual actions of latter-day populist-nationalists still seem to shock and awe even the most jaded among us. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to simultaneously bifurcate and strip autonomy from the disputed territory of Kashmir was lying in plain site on page 12, point 14 of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 2019 election manifesto. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been extremely forthright with his intent to force a no-deal Brexit "do or die, come what may" -- even if this means losing a no-confidence motion but forcing through a no-deal Brexit regardless by scheduling an early election for immediately after Brexit D-Day. And U.S. President Donald Trump may have seen the courts and Congress stymie many of his policies, but he has delivered on a long list of campaign promises against the odds. Each of Modi, Johnson and Trump are political figures...

Subscribe to view this article

Subscribe Now

Subscribe

Already have an account?