Description
In recent times, the world has witnessed a retreat from the liberal global order and is headed towards a rather pseudo-democratic brand of politics, spearheaded by a rise in right-wing populism in various nations across the world. Global freedom has declined significantly along with discernible erosion of political institutions in many countries. This paper examines the backsliding of democracy in contemporary global politics against the backdrop of the persistence of neoliberalism as a socio-economic policy option in many nation-states. Employing mixed research methods with a special emphasis on hermeneutic content analysis, the paper argues that there is a cyclical inter-relationship between the escalating socio-economic insecurities in societies, the contemporary recourse towards the ‘anti-global’ atavistic brand of nationalism, and a decline in democracy across the world. It further uses statistical analysis to examine the impact of neoliberal public policies on societies, and argues that the rising socio-economic insecurities in the contemporary world are a direct resultant of the promotion of such policies. Finally, the paper postulates that the rising 'atavistic' nationalism, if left unchecked, might transition into a global authoritarian super-cycle.
