Coined in the Runnymede Trust’s seminal report in 1997, the neologism of “Islamophobia” has been endlessly used to express the irrational hostility towards Muslims and Islam. This antagonism has been a global phenomenon on the rise, especially after the 9/11 in which the Western world realised of its vulnerability to an extent never experienced before.… Continue reading “Islamophobia in Sri Lanka or the Sterilization Obsession”
Today, generations often mark difference in ethics, politics and expectations for the future. “Historical generations are not born; they are made. They are a device by which people conceptualize society and seek to transform it,” argued historian Robert Wohl in “The Generation of 1914,” his classic analysis of the young men who grew up around… Continue reading “OK, Boomer: Understanding Today’s Generational Divide”
8chan’s ability to bring the worst of the human mind out into the open drives its traffic. 8chan is one of the most notorious message boards on the internet. Its contents include subjects ranging from extremist political ideas to extreme pornography. Unsurprisingly, it stands by the slogan “Embrace Infamy.” Visitors receive an equally intriguing salutation:… Continue reading “8chan: Where the Appalling Becomes Appealing”
The Austrian populist radical right party FPÖ is consistently deciding on policies that are disadvantageous for the working class – yet the party can count on workers’ votes in elections. The same is true across Europe, and has been for a while. How can we explain that workers seem to be inclined to vote… Continue reading “The Radical Right Chewbacca Defence: Why it does not matter if the radical right is lying to the working class that voted them into power”
Throughout its development, Prevent has faced severe criticism but has remained protected by the armor of national security. On January 22, Britain’s security minister, Ben Wallace, announced there was to be an independent review of the government’s Prevent strategy. The review was launched to further demonstrate the work done by the program in stopping people from… Continue reading “How Controversial Is Britain’s Counterterrorism Strategy?”
On November 27 2018, a panel discussion was organized at the Centre for Humanistic Inquiry (CHI), Amherst College, USA with the participation of Maria Alexandrovna Sidorkina, Chip Berlet, Tamir Bar-On and Dwaipayan Sen. After a few words of welcome by CHI director Martha Umphrey, organizer and discussant Andreas Önnerfors, Associate Professor in Intellectual History at… Continue reading “Conference Report – The Global Rise of Nativism and Illiberalism – A Conversation on the Contemporary Political Pathology”
While Donald Trump’s brand of white nationalism endures, we must deepen our understanding of the group behavior, mentality, and tactics of right-wing extremists. The United States of America has recently experienced concentrations of right-wing violent extremism particularly with an increase in violent radical right street groups. The US’ expanding catalog of radical right groups emphasizes… Continue reading “The Rise Of Radical Right Extremism In Trump’s America”
Eighty years ago, on 9 November 1938, an order was given by Nazi German authorities to terrorize and arrest German Jewish citizens, resulting in tens of thousands of people being sent to concentration camps. Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, marked a violent escalation against Jewish people. This escalation of violence was a continuation… Continue reading “In remembrance of Kristallnacht”
Is it entirely unreasonable to expect that Italy’s populists in power, though unavoidable, will end up like many governments before them – mugged by harsh reality? One of the most famous clichés in Italian contemporary political historiography is the phrase, lifted from Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa’s novel Il Gattopardo (The Leopard), “For everything to stay… Continue reading “Matteo Salvini – Italy’s salvation?”
At a political rally on October 22 for the upcoming midterm elections, US President Donald Trump declared himself a “nationalist.” Trump’s nationalism operates through notions of an “authentic,” rooted and morally good nation that is re-enforced in relation to migrants and minorities. Such exclusionary nationalism, also referred to as nativism, is an ideology or discursive… Continue reading “Donald Trump Declares Himself a “Nationalist””