Right-wing terrorism is a growing threat for democratic societies globally. With rising numbers in death tolls and far-right narratives creeping into the mainstream, the extreme right assumed a new face through the digital dissemination of extremist propaganda and trivialising violence – thereby attracting new audiences. Greater cooperation is required between the state, researchers, and tech… Continue reading “A New Wave of Right-Wing Terrorism”
COVID-19 has fundamentally altered the logic of Austrian politics as refugees and the question of Islam in Austrian society have become largely irrelevant. Austrians like to think of their country as an “Insel der Seligen” – an island of the blessed. The notion has a long genealogy, usually attributed to a visit by Pope Paul… Continue reading “How COVID-19 deflated the Austrian populist radical right”
Misogynistic “Incel” extremism isn’t a centralized operation, but it’s becoming increasingly dangerous. This poses challenges to combating the threat. The police have uncovered evidence that the attacker who killed a woman and injured another at an erotic massage parlor in Canada in February was inspired by incel ideology. The attack is now being treated as terrorism, making… Continue reading “Canada Filed The First Incel Terrorism Charge. How Do We Combat This Threat?”
Introduction Eco-fascism, mostly associated with the ‘green wing’ in historical National Socialism and neo-Malthusian authoritarians of the 1960s/70s, is an iridescent concept that signifies the preoccupation of extreme-right actors with environmentalist concerns. As such, it is also a highly loaded term, used both academically and as a slur. The term has recently attracted particular attention… Continue reading “Eco-fascism ‘proper’: the curious case of Greenline Front”
We know that problem cops are tough to fire. The reason—their unions. That has to change. Now. As an expert on the radical right over the last 25 years, I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time defending American police departments against claims that they were riddled with members of the Klan and other white supremacist… Continue reading “NO BARGAIN: Why Don’t Bad Cops Get Fired? The Power of Police Unions”
In the US, gender is a component of radical-right discourse around the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, common narratives circulated by the radical right and right-wing extremists about the coronavirus pandemic include racist, anti-Asian stories of the virus’ origination, xenophobic calls to close all borders as well as “liberation” protests that argue that government… Continue reading “How the Radical Right Is Appropriating Feminism”
There are few countries in Western Europe where the radical populist right has been more successful in recent years than in Switzerland. Switzerland poses a fascinating puzzle to anyone interested in contemporary politics. It has a confederate system, which accords a great deal of autonomy and independence to its constituent units, the cantons. Its consociational… Continue reading “The Swiss People’s Party Versus COVID-19”
The ideas of unity, reconciliation and coexistence must consider a Sri Lankan identity beyond one ethnicity, religion and language. In March 2015, the unexpected newly elected president of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena, stated that the national anthem could be sung in Tamil at official and institutional events. For anyone alien to life on the teardrop… Continue reading “Sinhala, Tamil and the National Identity of Sri Lanka”
Operation Paperclip has fueled neo-Nazi conspiracy theories regarding the CIA, espionage, and government smokescreens for decades. Operation Paperclip is the historical inspiration behind Hunters, a television series on Amazon Prime, depicting a ragtag band of Nazi hunters operating in New York in 1977, who discover that hundreds of Nazi war criminals are conspiring to establish… Continue reading “False flags, paperclips, and super spies: the secret Nazi origins of the CIA”
The tale concocted about Tommie Lindh’s death has become an excuse to target minorities, particularly Muslims, with violence. In early May 2020, a 19-year-old was murdered in a small, relatively obscure city in northern Sweden. But search for the young man’s name online – Tommie Lindh – and you’ll get hit after hit from far-right… Continue reading “The radical right is exploiting a Swedish teen’s murder”