John B. Judis on "The Populist Explosion"

What's happening in global politics, and is there a thread that ties it all together? There is, and it is called populism. In the spring and summer of 2016, the world's richest democracies witnessed a collective upheaval that shocked the globe and seemed impossible to understand. As if overnight, many Democrats revolted and passionately backed a socialist named Bernie Sanders; the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, in a stunning rebuke; the nativist billionaire Donald Trump became the presidential nominee of the Republican Party; and a slew of extreme parties continued to win election after election in countries like Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Austria, and Greece.