Contestations of the Liberal International Order
A Populist Script of Regional Cooperation

This Element discusses institutional cooperation in populist foreign policy and its implications for the Liberal International Order.

Fredrik Söderbaum (Author), Kilian Spandler (Author), Agnese Pacciardi (Author)

9781009015974, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 September 2021

75 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 0.6 cm, 0.146 kg

'This short book is … essential to understanding how populist leaders pursue regional multilateralism, the fundamental elements of their cosmologies and the normative implications there of.' Filippo Costa Buranelli, International Affairs

A seemingly never-ending stream of observers claims that the populist emphasis on nationalism, identity, and popular sovereignty undermines international collaboration and contributes to the crisis of the Liberal International Order (LIO). Why, then, do populist governments continue to engage in regional and international institutions? This Element unpacks the counter-intuitive inclination towards institutional cooperation in populist foreign policy and discusses its implications for the LIO. Straddling Western and non-Western contexts, it compares the regional cooperation strategies of populist leaders from three continents: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The study identifies an emerging populist 'script' of regional cooperation based on notions of popular sovereignty. By embedding regional cooperation in their political strategies, populist leaders are able to contest the LIO and established international organisations without having to revert to unilateral nationalism.

1. Introduction
2. The international dimension of populism
3. Framework
4. Viktor Orbán
5. Hugo Chávez
6. Rodrigo Duterte
7. Comparison: identifying a populist script of regional cooperation
8. Implications for research on the contestation of the LIO
9. Conclusion
References.

Subject Areas: International organisations & institutions [LBBU], International institutions [JPSN], Geopolitics [JPSL], Diplomacy [JPSD], International relations [JPS], Politics & government [JP]