Exploratory Study of Anti-Populist Attitudes and Its Correlates

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Exploratory Study of Anti-Populist Attitudes and Its Correlates EXPLORATORY STUDY OF ANTI-POPULIST ATTITUDES AND ITS CORRELATES Daniela Chacón-Mendoza A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lausanne In Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Public Opinion and Survey Methodology Director: Dr. Christian Staerklé Expert: Dr. Matteo Cavallaro For this thesis's publication, formal modifications have been made after its submission to the SSP Faculty. Lausanne, Switzerland Autumn, 2020 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I will like to thank the University of Lausanne for the opportunity and support provided with the Master Scholarship for international students. Secondly, I want to thank Professor Christian Staerklé for all of his guidance and disposition to help; his feedback and expertise were of great value for my formation. I extend this gratitude to Dr. Matteo Cavallaro for agreeing to participate in my defense. I also will like to express appreciation to my POSM colleagues and friends in Switzerland who have always offered me help and encouragement. Finally, I want to especially thank all my family in Costa Rica and Esteban for their loving support and patience. 3 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... 7 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ 8 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 9 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 11 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................................................ 17 Populism/Anti-Populism Mutual Constitution ...................................................................... 17 Populism/Anti-Populism Performativity & Content Characterization .................................. 19 Democracy, Crisis & Media .................................................................................................. 20 Exploratory Hypotheses ......................................................................................................... 23 METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................... 29 Research Design......................................................................................................................... 29 Spatial and Temporal Delimitation ....................................................................................... 29 Target population & Sample ................................................................................................. 30 Sampling Design .................................................................................................................... 30 Survey Questionnaire Design .................................................................................................... 31 Survey Validity & Reliability ................................................................................................. 32 Survey Data Collection Fieldwork............................................................................................. 33 Completion Rate .................................................................................................................... 34 Data Management & Preparation ......................................................................................... 35 Measurements ............................................................................................................................ 36 Anti-populist attitudes ............................................................................................................ 36 Predictive variables ............................................................................................................... 36 Survey Respondents ................................................................................................................... 41 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................... 43 Predictive Variables Descriptive Analysis................................................................................. 43 Anti-Populist Attitudes .............................................................................................................. 44 Anti-Populism Correlates........................................................................................................... 46 Anti Right-Wing Populism Correlates ....................................................................................... 47 Socio-demographic Correlates .............................................................................................. 48 Populism Dimensions, Elitism & Pluralism .......................................................................... 49 Media Trust Effect ................................................................................................................. 51 Covid-19 Impressions ............................................................................................................ 52 Democratic Deficit & Political Support ................................................................................ 52 Organizing principles: Entitlement & Egalitarianism .......................................................... 53 Anti Left-Wing Populism Correlates ......................................................................................... 56 Socio-demographic ................................................................................................................ 57 Populism Dimensions, Elitism & Pluralism .......................................................................... 57 Media Trust ............................................................................................................................ 58 Covid-19 Impressions ............................................................................................................ 58 Democratic Deficit & Political Support ................................................................................ 58 Organizing principles: Entitlement & Egalitarianism .......................................................... 59 CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................................... 63 5 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 67 APPENDIXES .............................................................................................................................. 71 APPENDIX A. SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES ......................................................................... 71 APPENDIX B. SURVEY DISTRIBUTION ................................................................................ 93 APPENDIX C. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS & DATA PRIVACY...................................... 97 Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................................... 97 Survey Data Privacy Statement ................................................................................................. 97 APPENDIX D. OPERATIONALIZATION ................................................................................. 99 APPENDIX E. ANTI-POPULISM ............................................................................................. 104 APPENDIX F. REGRESSION ANALYSIS ASSUMPTIONS DIAGNOSIS ........................... 105 Anti Right-Wing Hierarchical Multiple Regression Assumptions Diagnosis ......................... 105 Homoscedasticity ................................................................................................................. 105 Normally distributed residuals ............................................................................................. 105 Anti Left-Wing Hierarchical Multiple Regression Assumptions Diagnosis ........................... 106 Homoscedasticity ................................................................................................................. 106 Normally distributed residuals ............................................................................................. 107 APPENDIX G. ANTI RIGHT-WING POPULISM HMR ......................................................... 108 APPENDIX H. ANTI LEFT-WING POPULISM HMR ............................................................ 109 6 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. PCA for Items Measuring Populist Attitudes (N=304). .................................................. 38 Table 2. Descriptive statistics for the three Populist attitudes component indices (N=304) ....... 39 Table 3. Sample Survey Respondents Description (N=304). ........................................................ 42 Table 4. Predictor variables overview (N=302) ........................................................................... 43 Table 5. PAF for Items Measuring Anti-Populist Attitudes (N=304). .......................................... 45 Table 6. Descriptive statistics for the two Anti-Populist attitudes factor indices (N=304) .......... 46 Table 7. Hierarchical Regression Analysis for Variables Predicting Anti Right-Wing Populist Attitudes (N
Recommended publications
  • CRITICAL THEORY and AUTHORITARIAN POPULISM Critical Theory and Authoritarian Populism
    CDSMS EDITED BY JEREMIAH MORELOCK CRITICAL THEORY AND AUTHORITARIAN POPULISM Critical Theory and Authoritarian Populism edited by Jeremiah Morelock Critical, Digital and Social Media Studies Series Editor: Christian Fuchs The peer-reviewed book series edited by Christian Fuchs publishes books that critically study the role of the internet and digital and social media in society. Titles analyse how power structures, digital capitalism, ideology and social struggles shape and are shaped by digital and social media. They use and develop critical theory discussing the political relevance and implications of studied topics. The series is a theoretical forum for in- ternet and social media research for books using methods and theories that challenge digital positivism; it also seeks to explore digital media ethics grounded in critical social theories and philosophy. Editorial Board Thomas Allmer, Mark Andrejevic, Miriyam Aouragh, Charles Brown, Eran Fisher, Peter Goodwin, Jonathan Hardy, Kylie Jarrett, Anastasia Kavada, Maria Michalis, Stefania Milan, Vincent Mosco, Jack Qiu, Jernej Amon Prodnik, Marisol Sandoval, Se- bastian Sevignani, Pieter Verdegem Published Critical Theory of Communication: New Readings of Lukács, Adorno, Marcuse, Honneth and Habermas in the Age of the Internet Christian Fuchs https://doi.org/10.16997/book1 Knowledge in the Age of Digital Capitalism: An Introduction to Cognitive Materialism Mariano Zukerfeld https://doi.org/10.16997/book3 Politicizing Digital Space: Theory, the Internet, and Renewing Democracy Trevor Garrison Smith https://doi.org/10.16997/book5 Capital, State, Empire: The New American Way of Digital Warfare Scott Timcke https://doi.org/10.16997/book6 The Spectacle 2.0: Reading Debord in the Context of Digital Capitalism Edited by Marco Briziarelli and Emiliana Armano https://doi.org/10.16997/book11 The Big Data Agenda: Data Ethics and Critical Data Studies Annika Richterich https://doi.org/10.16997/book14 Social Capital Online: Alienation and Accumulation Kane X.
    [Show full text]
  • Swiss IGF 2018 Programme Tuesday, 20 November
    Swiss IGF 2018 Programme Tuesday, 20 November Welle 7, Deck 3, Bern 08:00- Registration and welcome coffee 09:00 08:00- Breakfast Session: Artificial intelligence and ethical principles – discuss with 09:00 Google! Questions: How are ethical considerations part of working on new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI)? How do we, as a society, for example think about fairness? About building inclusive experiences? About equipping the workforce for the jobs of the future? The input speakers will briefly present the latest work on AI within Google - also driven by large teams based in the Google Zurich Engineering Center - and then present the Google AI Principles and practices. But most importantly they are looking forward to an open and interactive dialogue on the topic! Inputs: Anton Aschwanden (Google), Daniel Schönberger (Google) The input presentations will be held in English. 09:00- Opening 09:10 with Philipp Metzger, Director of the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) 09:10- Plenum 1: Digital democracy – more than just E-Voting! 10:30 Questions: What are the opportunities and risks concerning digitisation in politics? Does digitisation promote democracy (e.g. thanks to Open Government and Open Data)? Or does digitisation endanger democracy (e.g. through online misinformation)? What is digital sustainability? What lessons can be drawn from the ongoing digital initiatives in Switzerland (e.g. We Collect or Smartvote)? What are the new trends and developments (e.g. Open Government Data, Politik.ch)? What are the quality
    [Show full text]
  • Starting Over: the Center-Right After Trump a Niskanen Center Conference on December 11, 2018
    1 Starting Over: The Center-Right After Trump A Niskanen Center Conference on December 11, 2018 KEYNOTE: ANNE APPLEBAUM Brink Lindsey: Okay, we’ll move forward with the program now with today’s keynote address. I’m delighted and proud to introduce Anne Applebaum, our keynote speaker. Anne is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist, and the author of numerous books, most notably Gulag: A History, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956, and Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine. Anne is also a columnist for the Washington Post and a Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics. I think we are focused on our political predicament here in the United States, but it is not a one-off, it is not a unique phenomenon. What’s going on here is of a piece with what’s going on in many other countries around the world. And the struggles that liberal democracy is going through now are not unique. It has gone through struggles in the past. So to bring our current moment into a broader perspective, I can’t think of anybody who can do a better job than Anne, given her unique breadth and depth of perspective on these matters — and a transatlantic perspective, certainly, because she lives a transatlantic life. Anne is a citizen of the United States and of Poland… Anne Applebaum: And Britain. Brink Lindsey: And a citizen of Britain too. So a triple club member. That’s good. We’re all looking for Plan Bs. So you’ve got a couple.
    [Show full text]
  • Beyond Neoliberalism,” in Which They Argued an Economic Paradigm Shift Is Due, One Similar to the Transition
    About Narrative Initiative Narrative Initiative catalyzes durable narrative change in order to make equity and social justice common sense. We make connections between people and organizations, amplify the best tools and methodologies from an emerging field, and activate new collaborations that lead to greater alignment. By weaving narrative thinking into a multidisciplinary field, we build toward a community of practice that creates a long- term shift in hearts and minds. About the authors Judith Barish is a writer and analyst living in Berkeley, CA. She has spent two decades ​ assisting social justice nonprofits with strategy, fundraising, and communications. Her clients include community organizing groups, advocacy organizations, labor unions, and foundations. Before launching her consulting practice, she was the communications director for the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, the manager of a campaign for California State Assembly, and the director of the California Fair Trade Campaign. She holds an A.B. from Harvard College and an M.A. in Politics from Princeton University. Richard Healey is Senior Advisor to the Grassroots Policy Project (GPP), which he ​ founded in 1994. He is currently a consultant for movement organizations on questions of strategy, power, and ideology. In the 1960s and 1970s Richard was active in the civil rights and anti-war movements. From 1970 to 1982 he helped found and lead the New American Movement, a socialist-feminist organization that merged into Democratic Socialists of America, and did community environmental health organizing. During the 1980s Richard was involved in disarmament and anti-intervention activities. He was Director of the Coalition for a New Foreign and Military Policy and Nuclear Times ​ magazine.
    [Show full text]
  • Populism and the Economics of Globalization
    Journal of International Business Policy (2018) ª 2018 Academy of International Business All rights reserved 2522-0691/18 www.jibp.net Populism and the economics of globalization Dani Rodrik Abstract Populism may seem like it has come out of nowhere, but it has been on the rise John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard for a while. I argue that economic history and economic theory both provide University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA ample grounds for anticipating that advanced stages of economic globalization would produce a political backlash. While the backlash may have been Correspondence: predictable, the specific form it took was less so. I distinguish between left-wing D Rodrik, John F. Kennedy School of and right-wing variants of populism, which differ with respect to the societal Government, Harvard University, cleavages that populist politicians highlight. The first has been predominant in Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Latin America, and the second in Europe. I argue that these different reactions e-mail: [email protected] are related to the relative salience of different types of globalization shocks. Journal of International Business Policy (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s42214-018-0001-4 Keywords: populism; globalization; Latin America; Europe INTRODUCTION ‘‘Populism’’ is a loose label that encompasses a diverse set of movements. The term originates from the late nineteenth century, when a coalition of farmers, workers, and miners in the US rallied against the Gold Standard and the Northeastern banking and finance establishment. Latin America has a long tradition of populism going back to the 1930s, and exemplified by Peronism. Today populism spans a wide gamut of political movements, including anti-euro and anti-immigrant parties in Europe, and Syriza and Podemos in Greece and Spain, respectively, Trump’s antitrade nativism in the US, the economic populism of Chavez in Latin America, and many others in between.
    [Show full text]
  • A Nicaraguan Exceptionalism? Debating the Legacy of the Sandinista Revolution
    A Nicaraguan Exceptionalism? Debating the Legacy of the Sandinista Revolution edited by Hilary Francis INSTITUTE OF LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES A Nicaraguan Exceptionalism? Debating the Legacy of the Sandinista Revolution edited by Hilary Francis Institute of Latin American Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, 2020 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license. More information regarding CC licenses is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/. This book is also available online at http://humanities-digital-library.org. ISBN: 978-1-908857-57-6 (paperback edition) 978-1-908857-78-1 (.epub edition) 978-1-908857-79-8 (.mobi edition) 978-1-908857-77-4 (PDF edition) DOI: 10.14296/220.9781908857774 (PDF edition) Institute of Latin American Studies School of Advanced Study University of London Senate House London WC1E 7HU Telephone: 020 7862 8844 Email: [email protected] Web: http://ilas.sas.ac.uk Typesetting by Thomas Bohm, User Design, Illustration and Typesetting. Cover image © Franklin Villavicencio. Contents List of illustrations v Notes on contributors vii Introduction: exceptionalism and agency in Nicaragua’s revolutionary heritage 1 Hilary Francis 1. ‘We didn’t want to be like Somoza’s Guardia’: policing, crime and Nicaraguan exceptionalism 21 Robert Sierakowski 2. ‘The revolution was so many things’ 45 Fernanda Soto 3. Nicaraguan food policy: between self-sufficiency and dependency 61 Christiane Berth 4. On Sandinista ideas of past connections to the Soviet Union and Nicaraguan exceptionalism 87 Johannes Wilm 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Sociology 3210B Sociology of Trumpism* Winter 2019
    CARLETON UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY SOCIOLOGY 3210B SOCIOLOGY OF TRUMPISM* WINTER 2019 Instructor: H. Eloy Rivas-Sánchez (Eloy) Office: A713 Loeb Building Office Hours: Thursdays 10 a.m.–11: a.m. or by appointment Email**: [email protected] Course meets: Mondays, 2:35pm – 5:25pm in 3328 Mackenzie Building Pre-requisites: Soc/Anth 1001 and 1002 or Soc/Anth 1003. Students with at least 3rd-year standing only. T.A.: TBA * This syllabus draws upon the outline developed by Dr. Justin Paulson, creator of this course. ** Emails will be answered within 48 hours. Course Description and Objectives This course draws on a variety of theoretical perspectives to interrogate the sociopolitical and socioeconomic structures that made Trump’s election possible. It also scrutinizes the set of ideologemes which underpin and structure contemporary right-wing populism, such as patriarchal backlash, white supremacy, and anti-immigrant nativism. Particular emphasis will be put on the historical understanding of the Trump phenomenon and its relationship with the emergence of the far right in advanced capitalist societies. Based on critical readings of academic texts, videos, lectures, and collective discussions, throughout this course we will do a collective effort to answer questions such as: What are the sociohistorical conditions that made Trump’s election possible? What (if anything) is new about Trumpism? How Trumpism relates to rightwing populism and fascist movements elsewhere? How is Trumpism affecting Canadian politics? And how Trumpism and rightwing populism are being contested from the bottom-up? It is expected that, at the end of the term, students will be able to provide a critical assessment of the rise of Trumpism and rightwing populism, and of the ideologies that sustain them.
    [Show full text]
  • Immigration and Populism in Canada, Australia, and the United States
    CDDRL WORKING PAPERS JULY 2019 IMMIGRATION AND POPULISM IN CANADA, AUSTRALIA, AND THE UNITED STATES Francis Fukuyama Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) and Mosbacher Director of FSI’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University. Naz Gocek Naz Gocek, a Canadian citizen, is currently a student at Stanford and member of the Honors Program at CDDRL. This study was made possible through the generous funding of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto. About CDDRL Since 2002, the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University has collaborated widely with academics, policymakers and practitioners around the world to advance knowledge about the conditions for and interactions among democracy, broad-based economic development, human rights, and the rule of law. The mission of CDDRL is to understand how countries can overcome poverty, instability, and abusive rule to become prosperous, just, democratic, and well-governed states. This concern for the overall trajectory of national development—and for the intricate links among the economic, political, legal, social, and health dimensions of development—sets CDDRL apart from other research centers. Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Stanford University Encina Hall 616 Serra Mall Stanford, CA 94305-6055 Voice: 650-723-4610 Fax: 650-724-2996 Website: http://cddrl.stanford.edu/ - 1 - IMMIGRATION AND POPULISM IN CANADA, AUSTRALIA, AND THE UNITED STATES Francis Fukuyama and Naz Gocek1 1 Francis Fukuyama is Mosbacher Director of Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL).
    [Show full text]
  • Religion & Politics
    Religion & Politics New Developments Worldwide Edited by Roy C. Amore Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in Religions www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Religion and Politics Religion and Politics: New Developments Worldwide Special Issue Editor Roy C. Amore MDPI • Basel • Beijing • Wuhan • Barcelona • Belgrade Special Issue Editor Roy C. Amore University of Windsor Canada Editorial Office MDPI St. Alban-Anlage 66 4052 Basel, Switzerland This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Religions (ISSN 2077-1444) from 2018 to 2019 (available at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special issues/politics) For citation purposes, cite each article independently as indicated on the article page online and as indicated below: LastName, A.A.; LastName, B.B.; LastName, C.C. Article Title. Journal Name Year, Article Number, Page Range. ISBN 978-3-03921-429-7 (Pbk) ISBN 978-3-03921-430-3 (PDF) Cover image courtesy of Roy C. Amore. c 2019 by the authors. Articles in this book are Open Access and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. The book as a whole is distributed by MDPI under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. Contents About the Special Issue Editor ...................................... vii Preface to ”Religion and Politics: New Developments Worldwide” ................ ix Yashasvini Rajeshwar and Roy C. Amore Coming Home (Ghar Wapsi) and Going Away: Politics and the Mass Conversion Controversy in India Reprinted from: Religions 2019, 10, 313, doi:10.3390/rel10050313 ..................
    [Show full text]
  • Phd Julien Version 1.Indd
    Europe’s political frontier On ethics and depoliticization critique Julien Kloeg Europe’s political frontier On ethics and depoliticization critique Europa’s politieke front Over ethiek en depolitiseringskritiek Thesis to obtain the degree of Doctor from the Erasmus University Rotterdam by command of the rector magnificus Prof.dr. R.C.M.E. Engels and in accordance with the decision of the Doctorate Board. The public defence shall be held on Thursday, 28 February 2019 at 15.30 hrs by Joannes Paulus Kloeg born in Dordrecht Doctoral Committee Promotor(s): Prof.dr. W. Schinkel Other members: Prof.dr. E. Balibar Prof. dr. J. de Mul Dr. G.H. van Oenen Copromotor(s): Dr. L.H.J. Noordegraaf-Eelens Table of contents Introduction 5 Chapter 1: Depoliticization and political ontology 13 1.1 Contextualizing depoliticization critique 15 1.2 The ontological aspect of depoliticization critique 25 1.3 From police to populism 29 1.4 The political cases against ethics 38 Chapter 2: European politics and aspects of depoliticization 45 2.1 The primacy of output legitimacy 51 2.2 European policy without politics 58 2.3 Establishing the status of European law 65 2.4 Fait accompli politics 71 2.5 Moral Fortress Europe 78 2.6 Governance with the people 84 2.7 European politics: aspects of depoliticization 87 Chapter 3: Problema Morale: direct relations between politics and ethics 93 3.1 Fixation 98 3.1.1 Rousseau’s openings and closures 100 3.1.2 Kantian moral politics 104 3.1.3 Nietzsche against givenness 112 3.2 Friction 117 3.2.1 Friction in Politics as a vocation
    [Show full text]
  • International Civil Society Centre and Justlabs Innovation Report 2019 Contact
    civil society innovation and populism in a digital era INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY CENTRE AND JUSTLABS INNOVATION REPORT 2019 CONTACT Agricolastraße 26 10555 Berlin, Germany Phone: +49 (0) 30 20 62 46 97 11 @icscentre.org @ICS_Centre @international-civil-society-centre www.icscentre.org INNOVATION REPORT 2019 Civil Society Innovation and Populism in a Digital Era 4 INTRODUCTION 6 POPULISM AND INNOVATION 16 STRATEGIES 22 CASE STUDIES 22 CORE INNOVATION 24 Resilient Roots 32 Femplatz’s pilot for Resilient Roots 40 Video Volunteers’ pilot for Resilient Roots 50 ADJACENT INNOVATION 52 New narratives for human rights 62 Voices of Inclusion 70 Inclusive communications strategy 78 Together Project 86 Shift 94 TransparenCEE 104 TRANSFORMATIONAL INNOVATION 106 WhatsApp for LGBT+ rights 114 Hope-Based Communications 122 Learn to Discern 130 Operation Libero 138 Citizens’ Voice 146 RECOMMENDATIONS INNOVATION REPORT 2019 POPULISM 4 introduction OUR HOPES FOR THIS REPORT OUR REASONS FOR THE REPORT The International The International Civil Society Centre’s 2019– 21 strategy aims to highlight innovations that Civil Society Centre can benefit the civil society sector internatio- and JustLabs nally. We seek to advance understanding of the most promising innovations, both inside and hope this report: outside our sector, that can be applied to tackle common challenges. Meanwhile, our partner in this shared adventure, JustLabs, was created 1 to provide a space in which such innovations recognises the amazing efforts of the “invisi- can be brought to life, tested and shared with ble innovators” who cannot communicate the wider social change field. To achieve our openly or visibly about their work because it joint aims, we have collected and shared some could put them at risk.
    [Show full text]
  • OPEN SOCIETY1 Marijk VAN DER WENDE ABSTRACT
    18. REFRAMING UNIVERSITIES’ GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT FOR AN OPEN SOCIETY1 Marijk VAN DER WENDE ABSTRACT Globalization has strongly influenced higher education during the last decades. As in many other sectors, this has generated contradictory outcomes. Enhanced competition for repu- tation, talent, and resources was driven by the paradigm of the global knowledge economy and fueled by global rankings, dynamic research funding, and international mobility. At the same time and in response, strengthened cooperation occurred within networks, systems, and regions. System convergence could be observed in parallel to growing divergence and strati- fication of institutions. As a whole, higher education has opened up to the world and became more engaged at global level. But how will this process continue with the current backlash against globalization in Europe and the US and what will be the impact of other major geopo- litical trends such as the rise of China? INTRODUCTION In times that walls are being pulled up and borders are being closed down, higher education is facing new challenges in its role towards the realization of an open, democratic and equitable society. Recent geopolitical events and intensified populist tendencies are promoting a turn away from internationalism and away from an open society. Support for open borders, multilateral trade and cooperation is being weak- ened, globalization is criticized, and nationalism is looming. Brexit, the prospect of a disintegrating Europe Union, and of the US turning its back on the world create waves of uncertainty in higher education regarding international cooperation, the free move- ment of students, academics, scientific knowledge and ideas. At the same time China is launching new global initiatives such as the One Belt One Road (or New Silk Road) project, which could potentially span and integrate major parts of the world across the Euro-Asian continents, but likely on new and different conditions, also for higher education.
    [Show full text]