Social Challenges for Business in the Age of Populism

The last decade has seen the rise of populist leaders and parties around the world. Despite some setbacks, such as the electoral defeats of U.S. President Donald Trump in 2020 and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil in 2022, populism continues to exert significant influence in these countries and to gain ground in other nations through electoral processes (e.g., Orbán in Hungary, Meloni in Italy, and Erdoğan in Turkey in 2022–2023). Even in countries where populists fail to control executive or legislative power, they can be highly influential in shaping the policies of mainstream parties either directly through participation in coalitions (e.g., in Finland) or from outside the government by threatening future electoral defeats (e.g., in Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium).