Once deemed to have become a marginal movement, the French New Right has gained new momentum. Its flagship think-tank, GRECE (Groupement de recherches et d’études pour la civilisation européenne), plans to hold its annual conference on June 20 (if the pandemic allows) for the first time since 2016 : the topic will be Carl Schmitt’s and… Continue reading “The French New Right 52 years On: Alive and Kicking as Ever”
The recently deceased Kevin Coogan helped create the scholarly groundwork for preventative measures against the rise of the Alt Right. Born on October 8, 1952, Coogan was raised in an Irish family in Philadelphia where he grew up in a loving and intellectually stimulating community. “Our grandparents ran a boarding house for Irish immigrants,” his… Continue reading “Remembering Kevin Coogan”
A number of far-right extremists have recently taken to social media platforms to spread conspiratorial content about COVID-19. Such conspiracy theories range from the virus being a biological weapon created by the Chinese government, to the predictable anti-Semitic tropes of ‘globalism’ claiming it was developed by the tech philanthropist Bill Gates in collaboration with the Jewish investor George… Continue reading ““#CoronaJihad”: How the Far-Right in India is Responding to the Pandemic”
The radical-right Progress Party (FRP) withdrew from Norway’s coalition government on January 20. This is a big defeat for FRP leader Siv Jensen, whose big ambition was to prove his party was koalitionsfähig, or “coalition capable.” After six years in government, the conflict between the populist radicals and the more moderate wing of the party… Continue reading “With the Collapse of a Right-Wing Coalition, Has Norway Turned Its Populist Tide?”
Within the span of a few weeks, the social and academic lives of over 91% of the world’s youth have been completely upended, as 1.5 billion students’ schools have closed, leading to an unprecedented shift in youth online engagement. In the U.S. alone, over 55 million children now spend much of their days online in a variety of… Continue reading “The Risks of Online Radicalization in the COVID-19 Era”
Is it reasonable to expect that the radical populist right is going to make somewhat of a comeback after the CoVid-19 crisis has passed? For those of us who have been following the radical populist right over the past couple of decades, one of the central questions today is whether the radical populist right is… Continue reading “Will France’s Marine Le Pen be a profiteer or victim of the pandemic?”
Polls show that the COVID-19 crisis, and particularly the EU’s more than hesitant response to it, has soured Italians’ views of the European Union. In no country in Europe has COVID-19 claimed more victims than in Italy. Similarly, nowhere in Europe has the radical populist right benefitted more from the pandemic than in Italy. At… Continue reading “How the European Union Lost Italy to the Radical Right”
Amendments expanding Putin’s power and language about the “state-forming role” of the Russian national majority, raises ethno-nationalism concerns. On many occasions, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for the adoption of new amendments to the Russian Constitution. Putin has usually referenced several reasons why the head of State would want to change the basic law… Continue reading “Putin’s Amendments To Russia’s Constitution Sparks Debate About Russian Nationalism”
The far-right has always created “alt-histories” and used historical revisionism to protect their power. President Trump is no different. In 2017, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to US President Donald Trump, coined the phrase ‘alternative facts’ to describe why the Trump administration had differing figures about the size of the audience at the newly elected president’s inauguration… Continue reading “Amid COVID-19, Trump Attempts To Rewrite History”
Well-organized far-right movements aren’t just lending a hand during the current COVID-19 crisis, but taking advantage of the occasion as a branding and public relations opportunity. In photo after photo on their website, they show their volunteers doing everything from delivering food and supplies to people on low incomes to driving health-care professionals to work… Continue reading “For the Far Right, the COVID-19 Crisis Is a PR Opportunity”