Fernando Casal Bértoa and José Rama – The Antiestablishment Challenge

Abstract

Over recent decades, democracies have seen a decline in support for traditional political parties. In parallel, the vote shares of populist and other antiestablishment forces have increased dramatically, especially during the last decade. As maintained elsewhere, the latter development is the consequence of the former, with its negative consequences for the functioning of democracy. This article shows that only the regeneration of traditional parties, and not the banning, marginalization, or accommodation of antiestablishment ones, can tackle the problem at its root.