Rightist Movements

Yearbook

    Right-wing Shift – Fast Forward
  • An ethnic-nationalist citizens’ movement has finally emerged in Germany too, and in record time; and with the entrance into the Bundestag of the Alternative für Deutschland it is becoming normalised. The only really new feature is the speed at which this has occurred. The political situation and...
    Right-Wing Populism: An Answer to the Crisis of Democratic Capitalism (1)
  • In broad areas of Europe as well as in North America, right-wing populist movements and parties have a substantial following and have chalked up impressive electoral successes. In Germany too, which had long been an exception, this trend has now set in. In Germany and Europe in general, right-wing...
    The Left, the People, Populism
  • The right-left divide seems to be breaking down in current political representation. In fact this goes back some thirty years when the right turn of European socialism began to blur the boundaries between left-wing and right-wing government management. It is true that the extreme right has always...
    Twofold Disenchantment
  • Donald Trump’s election as the 45th President of the United States alarmed policy makers as well as the media and intellectuals all over Europe. Not only because the umbrellas have always been opened up here when rain clouds darken the skies over Washington but because the scenario very much...
    The Danish People’s Party: A Journey to the Centre [1]
  • The Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti DF)2 was the big winner of the European Parliament (EP) elections in Denmark with 26.7 per cent of the votes. This represented a rise in the party’s votes of 11.2 per cent compared to the EP elections in 2009. The Danish People’s Party was also one of the...
    Far Right-Wing Parties in the European Parliament [1]
  • With the Treaty of Lisbon, the financial crisis, austerity, public debt, European top candidates for European Commission President for the first time in European Parliament (EP) elections, all political actors in the European Union (EU), including far right parties, have been confronted with...
    Right-Wing Extremism and Modernised Right-Wing Populism in Europe 1)
  • The right’s recent success2 The results of the 2014 European Parliament (EP) elections point to a shift to the right in the political spectrum – albeit to varying degrees in different countries. In France, Denmark, and Great Britain in particular, but also in Austria, Sweden, and Finland, as well...
    Peril from the Right
  • Introduction1 Many serious observers hold that the crisis in Europe has not come to an end. With the restructuring of the Greek national debt and the enlargement of the European Stability Mechanism, only time was bought, yet the fundamental problems of over-accumulation2 and the imbalances of the...
    Norway - From Meta-Politics to Mass Murder – A New Right-Wing Extremism
  • The massacre on the island of Utøya and the attack in Oslo’s government district targeting the Scandinavian labour movement was horrible, the worst kind of right-wing terrorist act. How could it happen? How could such an extensive and long-term terrorist plot go completely unnoticed by the security...
    Netherlands - Understanding the Wilders Phenomenon
  • It is said that the German writer Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) once remarked that if a revolution were to break out in Germany, he would flee to the Netherlands, since there everything happens fifty years later. Whereas this insight might have had some relevance in the mid 19th century, today it seems...
    Right-Wing Populism in Europe
  • In many discussions the increase of extreme right-wing and right-wing populist parties in a growing number of European countries is regarded as if it were only a matter of parallel individual national phenomena. But there is also a European dimension that is unfortunately rarely considered, one that...
    Power in Paradise: The 2010 Vienna Elections
  • The Mercer 2010 Quality of Living Ranking shows that the Austrian capital of Vienna (population: 1.7 million) is the world’s best place to live. Critics remark that the criteria for this survey are chosen for the information of ex-pats and do not focus on the life of the average Viennese working...
    The Hungarian Disaster
  • I hate writing this article. Since I oppose the alarming authoritarian developments in my country and am pleading for the restoration of civil liberties, I might appear to be what I definitely am not: someone who thinks that the 21st-century European variant of liberal democracy is a political order...
    The Rise of Right-wing Populism in Finland: The True Finns
  • Right-wing populist anti-immigration parties, such as the National Front in France, the Freedom Party of Austria, the Progress Party in Norway and the Danish People’s Party have done well in many European countries over the last couple of decades. So far Finland has been seen as an exception in...
    New Aspects of the Radical Right
  • Until the beginning of the 21st century, political science generally defined the “far right” differently from the conservative and the liberal right on several fundamental points, even though definitions varied depending on the author. Adhesion of the traditional right to an all-inclusive concept of...

Focus

    We Condemn the Attack on the CGIL Headquarters
  • During the demonstrations that took place on 9 October in Rome against the Covid-19 health pass, the national headquarters of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, CGIL) were attacked by right-wing forces. The President of the Party of the European...
    Fifty Shades of Brown. Remarks on the Fight against the neo-fascist Right
  • Europe consists of about 50 states, 27 of which are members of the European Union. So, what we see on the far right are ‘50 shades of brown’, so to speak. It is doubtful that one and the same notion can be applied to such a wide range of phenomena. However, even more doubtful appears the notion of...
    The Populist Radical Right as a New Class Vote?
  • The concept of class voting is shaken by neo-liberalism. Therefore, the quasi-natural link between social structure and voting is in question. Voting for radical right-wing parties is often considered as based on affects (e.g. anger). But these characteristics seem to be incomplete for grasping the determinants of this electoral behaviour.
    Golden Dawn Trial: A Democratic, Antifascist Society Holds its Breath
  • Tomorrow, 7 October, thousands of people will gather outside the courtroom of the Athens Criminal Court of Appeal to learn the court’s verdict in the trial against 69 members of the neo-Nazi organisation Golden Dawn, including its leader, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, and many of its former MPs.
    The Extreme Right in the Baltic States: Introduction
  • The positions of far-right forces in the Baltics show the differences between these countries. Looking at them as one whole turns out to be a simplification, making it difficult to understand the internal specifics of each nation. Read our article series on the different approaches, successes and failures of far-right forces in these countries.
    ¡No Pasaran!
  • In March, over four hundred people gathered in central London for the ¡NO PASARAN! conference - to confront the rise of the far right and plan for cooperation and coordinated action to meet the threats we face.
    The Reactionary Rebellion
  • The experiences in Hungary, Poland, Austria and elsewhere make clear the antidemocratic character of these right-wing extremist parties, which, once in government, infiltrate the state apparatus in order to take precautions against their being deprived of power again. Is it possible to speak, in a scientific sense, of a fascist danger in Europe?
    Right Next Door
  • Which counterstrategies against the rise of the far-right at municipal level across Europe?
    AfD — Theories on right-wing populism in the “Berlin Republic”
  • The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a relatively young party. When it was founded in February 2013, it was critical of Europe and the euro and made a name for itself by taking a nationalist stance in opposition to a decidedly neoliberal political climate, while at the same time displaying a nationalist, conservative wing.
    The Metamorphosis of the Front National
  • This article was written in January 2017 and initially published in the February 2017 issue of the Journal Sozialismus. In December 2016, the Austrian presidential election finally came out with the rejection of far-right presidential candidate Norbert Hofer. However the defeat of the Freiheitliche...
    The Dilemma between Post-Democracy and Pre-Fascism
  • Donald Trump, a relentless right-wing populist, outed as a sexist defender of rape culture, becoming the 45th president of the US proves that the rise of right radicalism is not confined to a number of states and regions and is not a foremost European issue but rather is the expression of a global crisis of politics.
    Reactionary Rebellion
  • When, in an unanticipated turn of events, Jörg Haider took over the leadership of the FPÖ (Freedom Party of Austria) in 1986 (at the time the party was part of a coalition government alongside the SPÖ (Socialist Party of Austria)), the party barely won 5 percent of the vote.
    The Far Right in Europe
  • We have launched a thematical Focus on “Radical, Far and Populist Right” on our website: Can right-wing parties with a nationalist and populist agenda come into power even in the big states of the EU? Of which character is the challenge they are posing to the Left?
    Right-Wing Extremism and Modernised Right-Wing Populism in Europe 1)
  • The right’s recent success2 The results of the 2014 European Parliament (EP) elections point to a shift to the right in the political spectrum – albeit to varying degrees in different countries. In France, Denmark, and Great Britain in particular, but also in Austria, Sweden, and Finland, as well...
    Netherlands – Understanding the Wilders Phenomenon
  • It is said that the German writer Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) once remarked that if a revolution were to break out in Germany, he would flee to the Netherlands, since there everything happens fifty years later. Whereas this insight might have had some relevance in the mid 19th century, today it seems...

Blog

    Notes on the Far Right
  • Fabian Figueiredo sketches a sharp overview of how the current circumstances in Europe and the Global North, which are dominated by war, energy crises, and nationalism, are affecting the development of the extreme right.
    Traditionalism’s New Golden Age – the Far Right and Russia
  • Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has cast a light on the web of ties between influential individuals (and politicians) in Russia, Europe and the US. This not only involves oligarchs and manipulative energy tactics, but Russia’s special relationship with the far-right around the globe.
    Sliding Further to the Right
  • The Alternative für Deutschland looks chaotic and divided, but beneath the surface, its neo-fascist wing seems to be gaining the upper hand. An analysis by Gerd Wiegel.
    ¡No pasarán! 2022 International Conference
  • The ¡No pasarán! conference brought together activists and experts from Europe and beyond to plan the most effective ways of challenging the far right. They shared experiences, analyses, and strategies for mobilisation and action. Find here the workshops' recordings!
    Could Marine Le Pen’s Dominance of the French Far Right Be Under Threat?
  • After her setback in the regional elections, Marine Le Pen now finds herself rattled by the unexpected rise of far-right media polemicist Éric Zemmour. Between its desire to represent a break with the status quo on the one hand, and its aspirations to electability on the other, her National Rally party is going through an identity crisis.
    Poland’s Presidential Election plagued by Right-Wing Homophobia
  • Whilst the threat of the pandemic still hangs over Poland, the country is going to the polls at the end of the month to vote for its new President. The election is dominated by candidates from the two main right-wing parties, with the incumbent Andrzej Duda using homophobic propaganda as a central theme in his campaign.
    Israel’s Radical Right Populism
  • Since its 'conversion' to radical-right populism, Netanyahu's Likud has remained in power for a decade, and following the third round of elections within one year as the dominant force in Israeli politics. Now it looks as if Likud will remain in power until the next election. How did they manage to become hegemonic?
    Klaus Dörre: "A Right-Wing Labour Movement? Causes of an Imaginary Revolt"
  • The 13th Annual Nicos Poulantzas Memorial Lecture, titled “A Right-Wing Labour Movement? Causes of an imaginary revolt”, was delivered on December 9th 2019 in Athens by the Professor of Sociology at the University of Iena, Klaus Dörre, and was attended by a large audience of leftists as well as progressive academics, students etc.
    Madrid, dominated by the extreme right, continues to cry out No pasarán!
  • On 30 October the Madrid City Council approved the celebration on 23 August of the Day of European Remembrance of the Victims of Stalinism and Nazism to pay homage to the victims of the communist and National Socialist regimes and other totalitarian and authoritarian regimes’, following an initiative promoted by the ultra-right group Vox.
    BSTP Workshop: Is Nationalism Obsolete?
  • The Balkan Society for Theory and Practice will hold its second workshop on July 1-12th, 2019, in Prishtina, Kosovo. We welcome applications from all disciplines and encourage activists and artists to apply even if their work is not in the form of a traditional paper.
    Counter Hegemony and the Rise of a New Historical Political Block
  • A critique of radical -and by now mainstream- anti-immigrant populism in Europe based solemnly on ideals of liberal-humanitarianism, without a systemic critique of capital is misleading in many respects. Such Analysts and commentators fail to understand properly or they just ignore, why...
    Neoconservative Movements in Slovenia
  • The report is analysing neoconservative movement that is focusing on opposing laws of and policies on sexual and reproductive rights in Slovenia. These movements are relying on religious beliefs to mobilize citizens to participate in politics around the ultra-conservative agenda related to family issues, gender, sexuality and reproductive health.
    ‘Independence March’ – The Unholy Alliance of the Polish Right
  • The annual Independence march (Marsz Niepodległości) took place in Warsaw on 11 November. Over 60,000 people attended, some of them masked and setting off red smoke bombs. Banners were carried with slogans supporting things such as a ‘white’ Poland and Europe and against refugees.
    Solidarity action and antifascist demonstration held in Budapest
  • Hungarian civil groups headed by the Hungarian United Left called for a demonstration for 8 October in the heart of the previous Jewish ghetto of Budapest in order to protest against the presently very powerful autocracy of the right-wing ruling power of FIDESZ and KDNP and the brutal police violence committed against Attila Vajnai.
    The Short Respite Is Over
  • There was a great sense of relief and much jubilation over the electoral victory of Alexander Van der Bellen, the Green candidate who was supported by a voters’ coalition that ranged from the centre to the Communist Party, and who defeated Norbert Hofer, the candidate of the right-wing radical political party.
    The Law and Justice Party and Poland’s Turn to the Right
  • It has been over a year since the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) took over complete governmental control in Poland. The presidential election won by Andrzej Duda in May 2015 and the victory of PiS five months later, gave party’s leader Jarosław Kaczyński almost total control of the state.
    The Dilemma between Post-Democracy and Pre-Fascism
  • Donald Trump, a relentless right-wing populist, outed as a sexist defender of rape culture, becoming the 45th president of the US proves that the rise of right radicalism is not confined to a number of states and regions and is not a foremost European issue but rather is the expression of a global crisis of politics.
    The Resistible Rise of the Far Right in Europe
  • The rise of the radical right in Europe raises many questions. The key here is the crisis of European democracies. To counteract this development, the Left is confronted with great challenges: overcoming mass unemployment and nationalism, and defending democracy.
    The Fidesz Recipe
  • Fidesz is not a ground-up movement or the product of a specific political theory or philosophy. Instead, Fidesz is a precision-engineered religion – a power-center controlled by the government and the head of the church.
    The Far Right in Europe
  • In last year’s European elections of which in three countries (Great Britain, Denmark and France) radical right-wing nationalist parties became the strongest forces.
    Theses on the Struggle against Right-Wing Extremism in Europe
  • To learn better to understand the realities in the different European countries regarding the Right in its various forms and also to study systematically the political issues involved, the Alter Summit network hold this European seminar “Strategies for the Struggle Against the Far Right and Neo-Fascism in Europe” in Budapest on 3 April 2014.
    The Greek Government and the Golden Dawn: More Links than Conflicts
  • At night of 17 September, Pavlos Fyssas, a 34 years old antifascist hip-hop artist had been stubbed to death by a member of the neo-nazi party Golden Dawn in Keratsini, a district of Piraeus. The murder of Pavlos Fyssas became the springboard of massive developments at the political and judiciary level as it gave rise to a massive legal prosecution progress of the neo-nazi party and its members, who are accused to be members of a criminal gang.
    The Greek Nazi Party “Golden Dawn”
  • The fact that a Nazi party – namely “Golden Dawn” – made it to the Greek Parliament is part of the broader phenomenon of the rise of far-Right in Europe; it reveals nonetheless some special dimensions of the political and financial crisis in Greece.
    Successful International Conference on the Rise of the Far Right in Kiev
  • From November 11th - 13th there was in Kiev an international conference on the rise of the far right. The conference "Alternatives to the rise of the far right in times of economic, social and ecological crises" was organized by the „Prague Spring II network against right wing-extremism and...

Publication

    "Europe of Nations"
  • The EP elections brought a strengthening of extreme-right parties. This paper takes a closer look at the party manifestos for the elections to the European Parliament of five of those extreme-right parties by comparing their positions towards the EU, EU integration and „Europe“ in general.
    The New Right and the Old Left in South-East Europe
  • In recent years Europe has experienced an unexpected rise in the power and influence of the far-right. At the same time, some of the traditionally most important left-wing parties experienced their demise. To shed a light on the interconnectedness of these two processes, transform! europe offers this eDossier.
    The Law and Justice Party and Poland’s Turn to the Right
  • It has been over a year since the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) took over complete governmental control in Poland. The presidential election won by Andrzej Duda in May 2015 and the victory of PiS five months later, gave party’s leader Jarosław Kaczyński almost total control of the state.