The rise of populist leaders can have a significant impact on the stability and functionality of democratic institutions in several key ways:

Erosion of checks and balances: Populist leaders often seek to consolidate power and weaken the independence of institutions like the judiciary, legislature, and a free press that is meant to provide oversight and act as a check on executive authority. This can undermine the system of checks and balances fundamental to a healthy democracy.
Attacks on democratic norms: Populist leaders may reject democratic norms like the peaceful transition of power, political compromise, and respect for political opponents. This can lead to greater political polarization, gridlock, and a breakdown in the basic rules of the democratic game.
Demonization of opposition: Populists often define the “people” they claim to represent in an exclusionary way, casting political opponents as traitors or enemies of the people. This can fuel a climate of intolerance and make it difficult for democratic institutions to function as intended.
Politicization of institutions: Populist leaders may seek to place loyalists in key positions within institutions like the civil service, judiciary, and electoral bodies, blurring the line between the political leadership and the supposedly neutral, professional administration of government.
Undermining faith in democracy: As democratic institutions become weaker or fail to deliver on populist promises, citizens may lose faith in the democratic system altogether. This can pave the way for more authoritarian alternatives.
However, the specific impact of populist leaders can vary greatly depending on factors like the strength of a country’s democratic traditions, the checks on executive power, and the willingness of other political actors to defend democratic norms. In some cases, populists may be constrained by resilient institutions, while in others they may succeed in dramatically altering the democratic landscape.

Overall, the rise of populism poses a serious challenge to the stability and functionality of democratic systems that require ongoing vigilance and commitment to democratic principles from political leaders and citizens alike.

“Feeding the Ghosts” by Fred D’Aguiar is a historical novel that explores the 1833 song massacre, in which the crew of the slave ship Zong threw over 130 enslaved Africans into the sea in order to claim insurance money. The novel examines the gendered nature of resistance in this event through the perspectives of several characters.

One key aspect is the contrast between the resistance efforts of the male and female captives. The male slaves, led by Mintah, organize a violent mutiny to try to take control of the ship and escape. This directly confronts the power of the slavers through physical force.

In contrast, the female captives, represented by Mintah’s sister Merle, engage in more subtle and subversive forms of resistance. Merle uses her position as a domestic servant to gather intelligence, sabotage the ship’s operations, and help plan the mutiny. She also preserves the cultural and spiritual traditions of the captives through storytelling and the veneration of ancestral spirits.

This gendered dynamic reflects broader patterns in slave resistance. Male slaves more often turned to overt rebellion, while women drew on domestic roles and cultural practices to undermine the slave system. The novel suggests that both approaches were important in the struggle for freedom, with the women’s resistance providing vital support and resilience to the men’s more confrontational actions.

Additionally, the novel explores how gender intersects with other forms of identity and power in the context of slavery. Mintah’s leadership of the mutiny is enabled by his masculine status, while Merle’s effectiveness depends on navigating the patriarchal structures of the ship. The text thus complicates simplistic notions of gender, highlighting how it operates alongside race, class, and other vectors of oppression and resistance.

Overall, “Feeding the Ghosts” presents a nuanced perspective on the gendered dimensions of slave resistance, showing how women and men drew on different strategies and resources to challenge the dehumanizing conditions of the transatlantic slave trade.