In late 2018, a majority of Brazilians elected Jair Bolsonaro president of the republic. By now, they probably wished they had never heard of him. In the current coronavirus crisis, Bolsonaro has joined the gallery of toxic leaders, in line with Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. Unlike the latter, Bolsonaro seems completely immune to any… Continue reading “Coronavirus-19’s victims: Populism”
Boris Johnson could benefit from the new strategy of the radical right in Europe of abandoning calls for withdrawal from the EU for gradually imposing its presence within Brussels. This week, the delegations of the European Union and the United Kingdom started the institutional meetings concerning the Brexit deal negotiations. The transition period during which… Continue reading “Europe’s Radical Right Can Help Johnson Get Momentum on Brexit Deal”
The contemporary political landscape is characterized by extreme polarization, and that’s not only in Britain or the US. The outcome of the election in the United Kingdom is just one more piece of evidence of a pernicious trend that has increasingly infested liberal democracies — extreme polarization. While it will take some time to get… Continue reading “The Extremes Win Today’s Elections”
Violent language — even language that only gestures toward violence — creates its own effects and its own momentum, which it cannot always control. In February 1909, a strange new manifesto appeared, first in the Bologna-based Italian- language newspaper Gazzetta dell’ Emiliana, and then in French in Le Figaro. Readers of the declaration might have… Continue reading “When Angry Words Become Violent Actions”
The pattern of leadership squabbles, purges, and brutal attempts to crush dissent dominates the history of the radical right. Such episodes are extremely instructive in the week following UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s, expulsion of 21 Conservative MPs. The question this therefore begs is: why right-wing leaders so consistently felt the need to expel troublesome… Continue reading “Purifying the Party: Lessons from 20th Century Radical Right Parties”
The electorate are engaged at some level in a fictive transaction, where we know that what we intend to buy is indeed a counterfeit. It is, it seems, a good time for nostalgia. It is received wisdom that this is what support for Donald Trump in the United States has meant, just as the… Continue reading “Going back somewhere: nostalgia and the radical right”
Johnson’s success in the Conservative leadership election is based upon undeliverable or potentially disastrous promises, either of which will only increase the Brexit Party surge. Boris Johnson is all set to be crowned leader of the Conservative Party on Tuesday. His seemingly irresistible rise to victory can be attributed to a number of factors, but… Continue reading “Why the radical right relishes Boris Johnson as prime minister”