Author Archive

Vinícius G. Rodrigues Vieira

Vinícius G. Rodrigues Vieira is an Associate Professor of Economics and International Relations at the Armando Alvares Penteado Foundation (FAAP) in Brazil and the Co-Chair of the International Political Economy (IPE) Research Committee of the International Political Science Association (IPSA). He can be reached out at rodriguesvieira@gmail.com and vgvieira@faap.br. Twitter: @viniciusgrv.

The literature on populism in the 21st century often assumes that far-right leaders draw their support from voters who have lost out to globalisation. This is the case among low-skilled, white workers in Global North democracies, including the United States. But, there are also meaningful occurrences of backlash against the political establishment and liberal values in parts of the Global South that have clearly benefited from the post-Cold War trade openness. For instance, two of the largest democracies in the developing world have been shaken by right-wing movements that came to power with the support of the winners of economic liberalisation. In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain, won the presidency in 2018 with the support of agribusiness exporters …