Viewing sketches for the masterpiece "Father" at an exhibition held in Luo Zhongli Art Museum in the Huxi Campus of Sichuan Fine Art Institute, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Dec. 29, 2017. Luo has devoted his career to rural-theme paintings. Wang Quanchao/Xinhua News Agency/Press Association. All rights reserved. Authoritarian populism is on the rise. Whether in Brazil, Hungary, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, France, the US and many other countries. Regressive, nationalist, sometimes with religious inflections, it is a diverse, global phenomenon.
Much has been written about the rise of authoritarian populism, not least on openDemocracy. But there has been relatively scant analysis of its specific roots and impacts in rural areas.
We launched the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative to fill this gap. ERPI aims to explore how and why authoritarian populism emerges in diverse rural worlds globally, and how it can be confronted. In March, several hundred researchers and activists will meet in The Hague to discuss experiences and ways forward. Our aim is both analytical and practical: to understand and also actively to seek alternatives.
