While most eyes are fixed on Iran and China, the competition between the liberal international order and the populist demagogues who threaten it has taken an unexpected turn. In a seemingly unlikely region, a rear-guard action has quietly begun to challenge the "populist surge".

With Britain seemingly on the verge of Brexit and US President Donald Trump something of a global albatross, some analysts have written off liberalism. But others still believe that liberalism remains strong, and they still expect a "backlash to the backlash" to emerge in Western Europe.