Walden Bello. Counterrevolution: The Global Rise of the Far Right. Philippines: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2019, 175 pp.

Authors

Carl Russel Reyes, Ateneo de Manila UniversityFollow

Abstract

Excerpt: In the early to mid-2010s, populism was more associated with leftwing movements and parties, the most prominent of which were in Southern Europe (Della Porta 2015). Among these polities reeling from austerity measures that include Greece and Spain, it was only in Italy where a right-wing populist party has gained traction. By the end of the last decade, we saw a global rise of right-wing populism, both of those who have claimed power or were on its cusps. Currently, there is no shortage of extant cases where these movements and its personalities have managed to use social cleavages brought about by rapid capitalist transformation. For example, the shift of production to poorer countries has eventually led the Global North southwards (Comaroff and Comaroff 2012). Similarly, the long-standing inequalities in the Global South have also been made more complex despite varying degrees of macroeconomic growth. Furthermore, it appears that these right-wing regimes are proving to be robust and popular, partly due to weakened and discredited oppositions—itself a product of the counterrevolutionary process.

Recommended Citation

Reyes, Carl Russel (2020) "Walden Bello. Counterrevolution: The Global Rise of the Far Right. Philippines: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2019, 175 pp.," Social Transformations Journal of the Global South: Vol. 8: Iss. 2, Article 11.
Available at: https://archium.ateneo.edu/socialtransformations/vol8/iss2/11