Populists such as Jacob Zuma are a threat to democracy‚ political researcher says

Jacob Zuma and Donald Trump get matching bruises in a new book about the threats to democracy around the world. After studying five young democracies and two established ones‚ Prof Ursula van Beek of Stellenbosch University says SA is “struggling in the aftermath of the ruinous rule by former president Jacob Zuma”. While Van Beek criticises populists such as Zuma‚ she finds herself on the same side of the globalisation argument as the US president‚ who told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday: “America is governed by Americans. We reject the ideology of globalism and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism.” Van Beek‚ editor and co-author of Democracy Under Threat: A Crisis of Legitimacy?, said: “Democratic nation-states are no longer fully in control of their own economies as they are tied into — and rely on — the global economic system.” This exposed citizens to more severe economic and social risks and increased inequality. “Global technological advances call for highly skilled indi...