Bogdan Klich: Europe is threatened by populism and nationalism

13 April 2018, 14:18

Today, European countries has been threatened by two dangerous trends - populism and nationalism.

This was stated by the Minority Leader of Senate, Minister of Defense of the Republic of Poland in 2007-2011 Bogdan Klich during the 11th Kyiv Security Forum in Kyiv.

"European countries after the World War II have developed systems that protect rights and freedoms of people. And now they are threatened by two dangerous tendencies - populism and nationalism," he said.

B.Klich emphasized the populism, which "has different manifestations and faces." "Populist movements play the fears and certain sentiments of people, using them as tools for their gain, undermining the constitutional order and sometimes violating the counterweight mechanism," he said.

The Polish politician also pointed out that, unfortunately, the so-called third wave of democratization was not happened and now is developing in the opposite direction: "Now more and more authoritarian states are emerging than democratic ones, both in Europe and in Eurasia. Experts say that the threat to liberalism occurs in many countries. "

B.Klich pointed out that since 2000 the number of populist parties in Europe had doubled - from 33 to 63. These parties are trying to contrast their nominal "their" with different minorities (sexual, ethnic, etc.), attacking independent institutions that provided by legislation procedures, independent media, as well as an independent judicial branch.

He expressed fears that populism could endanger both Western values and the EU itself. It is also dangerous that it "can strengthen Russia's destructive influence in Europe for a long time."

For reference:

The annual international event Kyiv Security Forum was launched by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine in 2007 as a platform for high-level discussions on the current issues in Europe and the Black Sea region. The Forum aims at increasing security cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea region, raising awareness about regional developments among key regional players, promoting the role of independent and non-governmental actors in setting the security agenda in Europe.

The event is being held with the support of NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine, the German Marshall Fund, The Victor Pinchuk Foundation, The Royal Institute of International Relations, Chatham House (UK), and The Regional Representative Office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Ukraine.

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Bogdan Klich: Europe is threatened by populism and nationalism

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