During the Cold War (1947-1989), American foreign policy was dominated by fears of Soviet expansionism. These fears were heightened by the possibility that Communist regimes would come to power in various parts of the world. These worries were not imaginary. China went through a red revolution in 1949. Pro-Soviet regimes came to power in Cuba,… Continue reading “When you’re Right you’re Right: Russia in America’s Place”
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.”
In the 2019 European Parliament elections, populist radical-right parties have further increased their vote shares. Academic scholarship and media coverage of the populist radical right has expanded considerably in the past few years, due to its rising prominence in global politics. In the 2019 European Parliament elections, these parties have further increased their vote shares… Continue reading “The Populist Radical Right Is an Electoral Threat That Is Here to Stay”
The vision of a fascist Europe proved to be a chimera. Today’s watchers of the radical right must hope that things will be no different when the heirs of ‘classic fascism’ meet in Milan next week. It was reported on 5 April that Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy’s League Party (formerly the Northern League) and the country’s… Continue reading “A pan-European radical right – contradiction in terms?”
Attacking the symptom (i.e., the populist radical right) is not going to do the trick – not in Spain, not in the rest of (western) Europe. Last week’s parliamentary election marked a turning point in post-Franco Spanish politics. For the first time since Spain’s transition to democracy in the late 1970s, a party clearly… Continue reading “Saviours of the nation? – on the breakthrough of the radical populist right in Spain”
Many scholars and observers have noted that our historical moment is marked by an extraordinary populist nationalist conjuncture (Brubaker 2017). Across European contexts and beyond, radical right parties have obtained double-digit support on a platform protesting European and global integration. Existing scholarship has focused on the supply side of populism, examining its drivers. Scholars have… Continue reading “When the wounded nation strikes back”
Those of us living in Britain today, whether we originally hail from these shores or not, are only too aware that we are living through a major historical moment. Those of us involved in analysing the radical rights are also very conscious of the fact that, whatever deal is (or isn’t) reached between Britain and… Continue reading “Nazi Analogies Won’t Help Counter Radical Right Agendas in Post-Brexit Britain”
In Latvia, the Russian linguistic minority is faced with a choice — either accept the rules of the nationalist game or emigrate. On April 2, 2018, Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis signed amendments to the education law that would effectively put an end to all Russian-language schooling in the country by 2021. The law is aimed specifically against Russian schools, rather than… Continue reading “Is the Latvian Government About to Settle the “Russian Issue”?”
Left-wing parties and movements across Europe employing anti-globalisation and anti-EU rhetoric are on the increase. In Germany, the new left movement Aufstehen has joined the trend. The return to the nation is a trend that marks the politics of more and more European left-wing movements and parties. Those many European social democratic parties that took… Continue reading “Can left nationalism stop the rise of the far-right in Germany?”
Belgium presents a “negative” case where the radical right has experienced a downward electoral spiral. The majority of recent research has focused on the rise of populist radical-right parties in contemporary European politics. Recent cases such as Italy (Northern League), Austria (The Freedom Party), Hungary (Fidesz), Germany (Alternative for Germany) and the Netherlands (The Party… Continue reading “Why Is the Far Right Losing Voters in Belgium?”