Project Type

Faculty Scholarship

Scholarship Domain(s)

Scholarship of Interdisciplinary Integration, Scholarship of Faith Integration

Presentation Type

Presentation

Abstract

In a lecture delivered at Illinois Wesleyan University three years ago, Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former Prime Minister of Norway and Director-General of the World Health Organization, observed that Americans who maintain that “Washington is the problem,” and Europeans who assert that “Brussels is the problem,” are essentially making the same argument. Since the global financial crisis of the late 2000’s, many discussions of economic policy around the world have centered around the rise of “populist” sentiments. Examples of these developments would include the “Brexit” process in the United Kingdom, the "America First” agenda of the Trump Administration in the United States, and the relative success of “Euroskeptic” parties, at both ends of the ideological spectrum, in last year’s elections for the European Parliament.

This [paper] explores the economic manifestations of the shift towards populism and nationalism in the United States and parts of Europe, examining their similarities as well as their differences. Drawing upon survey data and statistical results that have been presented in recent journal articles, there will be a consideration of the alternative responses of various Christian bodies, to these developments, on both continents, as well as the possible rationale(s) for these differences. This session will conclude, prior to a question-and-answer session involving the audience, with an argument in favor of the continued relevance of the legacy of “Christian internationalism” to contemporary questions of global political economy.

Permission Type

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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Apr 14th, 1:50 PM Apr 14th, 2:10 PM

Preaching the Same Message: Economic Populism On Both Sides of the Atlantic

In a lecture delivered at Illinois Wesleyan University three years ago, Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former Prime Minister of Norway and Director-General of the World Health Organization, observed that Americans who maintain that “Washington is the problem,” and Europeans who assert that “Brussels is the problem,” are essentially making the same argument. Since the global financial crisis of the late 2000’s, many discussions of economic policy around the world have centered around the rise of “populist” sentiments. Examples of these developments would include the “Brexit” process in the United Kingdom, the "America First” agenda of the Trump Administration in the United States, and the relative success of “Euroskeptic” parties, at both ends of the ideological spectrum, in last year’s elections for the European Parliament.

This [paper] explores the economic manifestations of the shift towards populism and nationalism in the United States and parts of Europe, examining their similarities as well as their differences. Drawing upon survey data and statistical results that have been presented in recent journal articles, there will be a consideration of the alternative responses of various Christian bodies, to these developments, on both continents, as well as the possible rationale(s) for these differences. This session will conclude, prior to a question-and-answer session involving the audience, with an argument in favor of the continued relevance of the legacy of “Christian internationalism” to contemporary questions of global political economy.