What is behind the shift in norms around racism and the politics of immigration in recent decades? Although many are focused on the daily onslaught against norms under the current US president, from a broader perspective, norms around issues of race and the politics of immigration have clearly shifted since I began studying the radical… Continue reading “The Shifting Norms that Threaten Our Democracy”
In 2019, Oswald Mosley’s European vision does not feel so distant, as current affairs increasingly come to resemble the darker parts of history. Euroskepticism is often discussed, particularly in the context of the ongoing Brexit debate, as a right-wing political cause. However, the recent maneuverings of the European authoritarian right ahead of the EU parliamentary… Continue reading “Dark Visions: The Historical Precursor to Europe’s Radical Right”
The idea of European civilisation is repeatedly evoked by a range of different actors within radical right movements in the West. Paradoxically, whilst much of the European radical right is resistant to the European Union as a political project, many elements of radical right discourse return to the idea of Europe as a homogenous culture.… Continue reading “The Narrative of European Civilization within Radical Right Discourse”
In the May European elections, the immigration issue will continue to play a role in the expected success of radical right parties. The initial success of radical right parties such as the French Front National (FN) in the mid-1980s coincided with concerns about immigration flows into countries across Europe. Although the post-WWII guest-worker era had… Continue reading “The radical right, immigration and the future of the EU”
Britain’s largest Holocaust memorial is to be built in Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Palace of Westminster. Scheduled to arrive in 2021, the winning design will consist of a learning centre as well as 23 bronze fin structures with spaces for people to move in between – reminiscent of Berlin’s Memorial to the Murdered… Continue reading “The importance of Holocaust Memorial Day in 2019 for ‘Brexit Britain’”
The 2019 European elections are set to see an unprecedented number of far right parties enter the European Parliament. These parties are for the most part rabidly anti-EU, and widely seen as presenting a danger for its future. However, far right parties have a complex relationship with ‘Europe’ that the label ‘eurosceptic’ does not fully… Continue reading “Pro-Europe and anti-EU? Reviewing the far right’s view of Europe”
Adhering to a nostalgia for a more stable time, many observers see in the end of Merkel’s era the beginning of a dystopian future of political turmoil. Six years ago, in November 2012, Angela Merkel was at the height of her domestic and European power. At the domestic level, Germany was perceived as an “island… Continue reading “The End of the Merkel Era”
The Austrian Habsburg Empire was famous for its motto: ‘not to lead wars but instead, to marry [and to colonize more territories]’; frequently repeated in Latin, bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria, nube! Austrian politicians seem to have recently remembered this strategy for expansion and have decided to stage their weddings in a similar fashion. Of course, everyone… Continue reading “The EU’s Putin Wannabes”
On 28 June 2018, the prime ministers of the EU 27 member-states met in Brussels to discuss the most important current global and transnational challenges. The agenda, it seems however, focused overwhelmingly upon one issue: how to protect the EU from refugees and asylum seekers; that is, how to (re-)build “Fortress Europe”, one in which… Continue reading “The Revival of Numbers and Lists in Radical Right Politics”
What animates the politics of the radical right today? My colleague Sarah Valdez and I identify neo-nationalism as the common denominator of contemporary radical right parties. Nationalism is a political ideology concerned with congruence between the nation (people) and the state (government). Real or perceived threats to this principle may mobilize nationalist sentiments to advance… Continue reading “The Return Of Nationalism And The Rise Of The Radical Right”