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4 - Right-Wing Populism, Illiberal Democracy, Trade Unions, and Workers’ Rights

from Part I - Labor and Democracy: Theory and Practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2022

By
Keith D. Ewing
Edited by
Angela B. Cornell  and
Mark Barenberg
Angela B. Cornell
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Mark Barenberg
Affiliation:
Columbia University, New York
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Summary

The aims of the chapter are twofold. First, to understand the nature and characteristics of new forms of populist government, and in particular the emergence of “illiberal democracy,” the modern intellectual origins of which can be found in the writings of Carl Schmitt. Second, to examine the consequences of illiberal democracy for trade unions both politically and industrially. The concern is not just that illiberal democracy continues to redefine and diminish the role of trade unions, but that it does so at a time when trade unions have been weakened by decades of economic liberalism. Although these are questions of emerging global significance, recent political developments in the United Kingdom provide the main focus of this chapter.

Keywords

populismilliberal democracyCarl Schmitt; trade unionsUnited Kingdom
Type
Chapter
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The Cambridge Handbook of Labor and Democracy , pp. 66 - 84
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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