Business of Power - Miquel Vila - Ryan Research Podcast Ep. 17
Mar 11, 2024
auto_awesome
The podcast delves into geopolitics, nationalist movements, industrial policy, and the impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Europe and China. It explores populism, European elections, post-war prospects, trade dynamics, historical industrialization, and post-liberal movements in a global context.
Populism mobilizes diverse individuals against traditional political systems.
European elections may see increased influence of populist parties due to economic and migration issues.
EU faces challenges aligning national interests for concrete industrial policy reforms.
Deep dives
Populism as a Political Strategy
Populism is characterized as a way of doing politics that organizes the political conflict between the people and elites. It is not an ideology but a method of mobilizing people who feel excluded from traditional political systems. Populist movements often feature charismatic leaders who establish a special connection with their followers. The strength of populism lies in its ability to bring together individuals from diverse political backgrounds and challenge established political parties.
European Political Landscape
The upcoming European elections are expected to reflect the growing influence of populist parties due to factors like economic slowdown, mass migration issues, and tensions related to the war in Ukraine. Populist parties are likely to make significant gains, impacting the political discourse and potentially leading to changes in the EU's approach to key issues like migration and defense strategies. The differences within populist movements across Europe suggest varied approaches towards EU reform and integration.
EU Industrial Policy and Sovereignty
While there are talks about enhancing European defense capabilities and autonomy, skepticism lingers about the extent of actual structural changes. The EU faces challenges in aligning diverse national interests and moving beyond rhetorical shifts towards concrete industrial policy reforms. The future geopolitical landscape will be influenced by the ability of European leaders to navigate the complexities of populism, sovereignty, and industrial policy while addressing underlying economic and security concerns.
Emergence of Populist Movements Clustering Towards Crude Neoliberalism
The podcast discusses the emergence of populist movements worldwide and their alignment towards a crude form of neoliberalism. There is a shared dialogue among populists leading to an increase in the pace of policies desired by elites. The discussion highlights similarities between contemporary Western economic directions and historical developments in South America, focusing on the export-driven agricultural economies.
Challenges and Dynamics of Reshaping Industrial Societies
The conversation delves into the complex process of reshaping industrial societies in the modern context. It emphasizes the challenges of reindustrialization in societies with historical industrial backgrounds, exploring the need to balance cultural perspectives with industrial policies. The dialogue touches on the importance of localizing industrial processes and fostering organic community links for long-term cultural leadership and institutional development.
Miquel Vila is a consultant and analyst of international politics. Miquel holds a master's degree in Chinese Studies from Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) and a master's degree in International Security from the University of Groningen (UOG). His field of specialization is geoeconomics, industrial policy, and nationalism. His region of expertise is the Indo-Pacifc with a focus on China. He writes at his Substack "The Business of Power" and has recently published a book "The End of the Chinese Alternative" (soon to be translated to English).
In our discussion, we chatted about the Great Financial Crisis and its role in opening up the era of multipolarity. We go over trends in the post-industrial western world, especially Europe, and compare it to the rapidly industrialized China. Other aspects include nationalism, populism, EU federalism, geopolitics, industrial policy, and more.
Listen the audio version of this podcast here and on all major podcast apps.
