From the root of discontent to the decline of democracy

Abstract

This paper deals with the causes of social discontent and its effects on liberal democracies. It highlights material inequality and the feelings of uncertainty/insecurity, frustration and resentment caused by various factors. However, it also argues that this unrest cannot be explained without taking cultural and political variables into account. The combination of these elements leads to a populist drift that we specify in the rise of the radical populist right (RPR) and in how its proposals underpin an anti-politics that represents an internal enemy for liberal democracies.