I want to say “climate change” and “wealth inequality”. Those are leading to instability and displacement of people. When those that have little or lost the little they had emigrate or flee to a relatively wealthy place with large inequality, the local population’s richest have a new boogieman. That gets populists elected that make use of a lot of identity politics, with inflammatory and simplistic language. Non-populists see how well that works and feel like they require to employ the same tactics.

Calling for “security” and “protecting the children” are big trigger points for a large section of the society. They can thus frame themselves as “defenders of good” by doing things supposedly in favor of those things.