Do populists erode civil society?

Civil society refers to the sphere between the state, the economy, and private life where people voluntarily come together to pursue shared societal interests—such as in sports, cultural, and music clubs, grassroots initiatives, or non-profit organizations. As such, civil society is a central component of social life.

In their latest article 'Do populists erode civil society'External link, Ege Asutay and his his co-authors Niclas Berggren and Christian Bjørnskov examine how the presence of populists in politics affects civil society. Through an empirical analysis of a panel of 79 countries over a 50-year period, Asutay, Berggren, and Bjørnskov find that a stronger presence of right-wing populist forces is associated with a subsequent decline in both civil-society freedom and civil-society structure.