Cultural integration, pluralism, and multiculturalism (sometimes termed “mosaics” or “melting pots”) have been largely studied as processes of democratization, one whereby ethnic confrontation is reduced through tolerance and cooperation. The assumption that such socio-political transitions are steps towards a broader sense of equality has made it difficult to understand the emergence of radical right extremism… Continue reading ““Right” roads to “pluralism””
Demographic conspiracies should not be seen as fringe enterprises restricted to gullible extremists – they have an increasingly mainstream appeal. Enoch Powell’s 1968 ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech has infamously seared itself into the British public’s mind for its apocalyptic hyperbole and guttural prejudice but less so for its conspiratorial nature. Powell warned of the demographic… Continue reading “The great replacement theory: a historical perspective”
In this post, I discuss how the concept of “difference” is a surprising link between postmodern thought and the New Right. In New Culture, New Right: Anti-Liberalism in Postmodern Europe, Michael O’Meara (2004) lays out a searing critique of postmodernism in the process of defending the rise of a revolutionary New Right that arrived in… Continue reading “Not the Same Difference: How the New Right hijacked an essential postmodern concept”
Hermeneutical injustice is defined as the inability to communicate and/ or understand one’s own social experience, owing to a lack of concepts available in society used to define the experience. For example, before Carmita Wood’s introduction of the concept of sexual harassment, individuals were incapable of understanding and communicating this social experience and the significant… Continue reading “Hermeneutical injustice and the far right?”
Introduction The radical right has been an integrated part of the Danish party system since the 1970s and has been allowed to set the agenda especially on immigration. The mainstream has often depended on their support in government. More recently, the Danish People’s Party (DF) has supported the liberal party in the last period in… Continue reading “Disastrous result for the radical right Danish People’s Party in latest elections”
The first time I visited Timişoara, in 2002, it looked drab, depressed and wrecked by Ceauşescu’s appalling communist regime. Today, a remarkable transformation has taken place; with the city on the verge of becoming European City of Culture in 2021, its crumbling city centre has been restored and Timişoara has again become what it once… Continue reading “Review of Victor Neumann, ed., The Banat of Timişoara: A European Melting Pot (London: Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers, 2019), xvi+495pp.”
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”
Is it possible to achieve a triumph of multiculturalism and social cohesion in democratic societies? As the popularity and influence of right-wing radicalism grows in Europe, a question has arisen as to whether democracy is actually able to ensure stability and multicultural development. Indeed, how efficient is the democratic struggle against radicalism? After all, democracy… Continue reading “Can Multiculturalism Triumph in Europe?”