The victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election and the rise of ethno-nationalist groups throughout the developed world have alarmed many who fear the return of political forces and dynamics of the 1930s. Right-wing groups that have emerged in Europe and the United States have more than a whiff of fascism to them and the resilience of political institutions is being tested by charismatic personalities with disdain for politics as usual; indeed, that is often the main part of their appeal.
But another historical moment may be more analogous than the 1930s to this troubled time: 1848. Then, a tide of revolutions swept across Europe, upending the established order. There were upheavals in more than 50 different countries, none of them coordinated, in the biggest wave of unrest to ever hit the continent.
English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) explained the source of this unease and its implications: "the obligations of subjects to the sovereign is understood to last as long, and no longer, than the power lasteth by which he is able to protect them." The driving force behind the movement was a pervasive and mounting unease among the middle and lower classes that they were disenfranchised.