The Wrong and the Right: A Comparative Analysis of ‘Anti-Immigration’ and ‘Far Right’ Parties

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joost van Spanje
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Immigration Policies ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Extant Literature ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
The Right

AbstractAcross Western Europe, parties have emerged that are both right wing and in favour of restrictions on immigration. These parties are commonly referred to in terms of either ideology (e.g. ‘far right’) or policy (‘anti-immigration’). This article compares far right parties, selected on the basis of their ideologies, and anti-immigration parties, selected based on their immigration policies. I argue and empirically demonstrate that, contrary to what the extant literature suggests, these sets of parties are not identical. I point out similarities and differences, showing why it is useful to distinguish between these two types of party. The article concludes by discussing the relevance of these differences to the relevant literature.

Contemporary Right-Wing Radicalism in Europe

1999 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
HANS-GEORG BETZ
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
University Of Michigan ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Ann Arbor ◽  
Right Wing Extremism

Herbert Kitschelt in collaboration with Anthony J. McGann, The Radical Right in Western Europe. A Comparative Analysis (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1995), 323 pp., $49.50, ISBN 0-472-10663-5.Peter Merkl and Leonard Weinberg (eds.), The Revival of Right Wing Extremism in the 90s (London: Frank Cass, 1997), 304 pp., £18.50/$24.50, ISBN 0-714-64207-X.Urs Altermatt and Hanspeter Kriesi, L'Extrême droite en Suisse. Organisations et radicalisation au cours des années quatre-vingt et quatre-vingt-dix (Fribourg: Les Éditions Universitaires, 1995), 293 pp. (pb.), SFr. 42.00, ISBN 2-827-10727-9.Mike Cronin (ed.), The Failure of British Fascism. The Far Right and the Fight for Political Recognition (London: Macmillan, 1996), 182 pp. (hb.), £35.00, ISBN 0-333-58438-4.Gerhard Feldbauer, Von Mussolini bis Fini. Die Extreme Rechte in Italien (Berlin: Elefanten Press, 1996), 224 pp. (pb.), DM 29.40, ISBN 3-885-20575-0.Helmut Reinalter, Franko Petri and Rüdiger Kaufmann (eds.), Das Weltbild des Rechtsextremismus. Entsolidarisierung und Bedrohng der Demokratie. Gesellschaftliche Bedingungen, Strukturen und Wirkungen rechtsextremen Denkens (Innsbruck/Vienna: Studienverlag, 1998), 576 pp., DM 82.00, ISBN 3-706-51258-0.Tore Bjørgo, Racist and Right-Wing Violence in Scandinavia: Patterns, Perpetrators, and Responses (Oslo: Tano-Aschehoug, 1997), 386 pp., Kr 298.00, ISBN 8-251-83665-4.Jeffrey Kaplan and Tore Bjørgo (eds.), Nation and Race: The Development of a Euro-American Racist Subculture (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1998), 273 pp. (pb.), £19.00, ISBN 1-555-53331-0.

scholarly journals World outlook split in Europe

2021 ◽  
pp. 133-149
Author(s):  
Ildus Yarulin ◽  
E. Pozdnyakov
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The West ◽  
World Outlook ◽  
Ideological Differences ◽  
The Right ◽  
Eastern And Western Europe ◽  
The Eu

The article deals with the reasons for the emergence of ideological differences between the Eastern and Western Europe. The article also describes how the views of the population of "new" Europe give rise to a demand for the right-wing state policy. The methodological basis was the principles of comparative analysis. The differences in the worldview of Western and Eastern Europeans are analyzed. The author suggests that the confrontation between a number of the EU countries (Poland, Hungary) with Brussels is caused, first of all, by serious ideological differences between the worldview concepts of the population of different regions of Europe. It is concluded that the inhabitants of the East largely disagree with the progressive views of the West, which gives rise to misunderstanding at the level of the population of the current EU policy (in particular, the problems of discrimination against minorities and the dispute over quotas for the admission of migrants are mentioned). It is concluded that in the society of the "new" Europe, a demand for right-wing politics has been formed, based on the cultural past of these countries. The request finds a way out in the victory of the conservative parties in the elections, which complicates relations with Brussels. The author concludes that the confrontation between the West and the East largely arises from the desire of the first to "level" the Europeans according to a certain standard of liberal democracy, although in the countries of Eastern Europe the population it does not agree with the imposition of such a system.

The Specter of the Past: Reconstructing Conservative Historical Memory in South Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-362
Author(s):  
Myungji Yang
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
New Right ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Far Right ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Right

Through the case of the New Right movement in South Korea in the early 2000s, this article explores how history has become a battleground on which the Right tried to regain its political legitimacy in the postauthoritarian context. Analyzing disputes over historiography in recent decades, this article argues that conservative intellectuals—academics, journalists, and writers—play a pivotal role in constructing conservative historical narratives and building an identity for right-wing movements. By contesting what they viewed as “distorted” leftist views and promoting national pride, New Right intellectuals positioned themselves as the guardians of “liberal democracy” in the Republic of Korea. Existing studies of the Far Right pay little attention to intellectual circles and their engagement in civil society. By examining how right-wing intellectuals appropriated the past and shaped triumphalist national imagery, this study aims to better understand the dynamics of ideational contestation and knowledge production in Far Right activism.

Conservatism

Sociology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kivisto
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The Right

Conservatism refers to one of the constituent political positions found in all contemporary democracies. It can be construed as a philosophy, an ideology, a political party, a movement, a disposition, a mode of discourse, performance style, and an emotional relationship to the political. Since the birth of modern democracies in the aftermath of the French Revolution, it has become commonplace to describe the range of political options available to the citizenry as occupying a spectrum from left to right, with a range of alternatives between the extreme poles, including a centrist position in the middle that straddles the divide. The left was associated with promoting challenges to established authorities and existing hierarchies, along with calls for increased economic equality and expanded social and political rights to all citizens, including the heretofore marginalized. This contrasts with the right, which was defined as defending inequalities and differential entitlements, concentrating matters involving rights around preserving property rights, shoring up public and social order, and promoting traditional values and conventional social relations. In this context, liberalism became a mark of political identity associated with the left, as did socialism, while conservatism, broadly construed, represented the right. This framing of politics also includes the possibility of underminings by extremism on both the left and right. For the former, the main threat since the Russian Revolution has been posed by revolutionary communism, while right-wing extremism has manifested itself in reactionary movements, including fascism and illiberal populism. Since liberalism and conservatism must be understood in relational terms, the spatial and temporal settings for the politics of opposition will vary considerably. It is impossible to do justice to the vast literature on conservatism in a bibliography such as this. What follows is a more delimited, and thus manageable examination of work on conservatism. First, it focuses on conservatism in the United States, and not elsewhere. Second, it is chiefly concerned with conservatism since the end of World War II. Third, it concentrates on the study of conservatism by sociologists and those working in cognate disciplines; while not all the authors are card-carrying sociologists, their works reflect a sociological character, although the exception to this third point is the overview section, which presents key readings by advocates of conservatism, and thus offers insider depictions of the meaning of conservatism. Fourth, this article does not concentrate solely on extremist right-wing movements; rather, in surveying the relevant literature on American conservatism broadly construed, it points to a growing consensus that the radical right wing has pushed mainstream conservatism increasingly further to the right.

The new challengers: greens and right-wing populist parties in western Europe

1998 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdinand Müller-Rommel
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
New Left ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Green Parties ◽  
The Right

The decline in confidence in the traditional parties in Western Europe has manifested itself through the emergence of the Green parties on the Left and populist parties on the Right. Despite successes in some countries, these parties have remained small, although they have been able, respectively, to play on the growth of ‘post-materialist’ values on the Left, and of anti-immigrant sentiments on the Right. The prospects for these parties are not very good, in particular for the right-wing populist parties, which are highly dependent on the popularity of their leaders, and even for the Green parties, although these can exploit the internal divisions within Socialist parties between supporters of the ‘traditional’ Left and supporters of the ‘New’ Left.

Challenges Facing Latin American Peasant Movements under Progressive Governments and New Right-Wing Parties: The Case of Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 94-112
Author(s):  
Lia Pinheiro Barbosa
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Latin American ◽  
New Right ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Coup D'etat ◽  
Rural Workers ◽  
Peasant Movements ◽  
Landless Rural Workers Movement ◽  
The Right

This article analyzes the dilemmas faced by peasant movements in Brazil during the “progressive governments” and the return of the right to power. To this end, it analyzes the case of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in two scenarios of recent political history. The first is that of the progressive governments, characterized by a simultaneous opening of public space and public policies to popular movements, although at the same time and contradictorily, also to the private sector linked to financial and transnational capital. The second scenario is that of the rise of the far right to power, first through a parliamentary coup d’état, and then by an electoral process. O artigo analisa os dilemas enfrentados pelos movimentos camponeses no Brasil durante os “governos progressistas” e no retorno das direitas ao poder. Para tanto, se analisa o caso do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) em dois cenários da história política recente: o primeiro, no marco dos governos progressistas, caracterizado por uma abertura do espaço público, no campo das políticas públicas, aos movimentos populares, ainda que ao mesmo tempo e de maneira contraditória, também ao setor privado vinculado ao capital financeiro e transnacional. O segundo cenário é o da ascensão, mediante um golpe de Estado parlamentário, seguido de processo eleitoral, da direita ao poder.

Flank attacks

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthijs Rooduijn ◽  
Tjitske Akkerman
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
The Political ◽  
General Category ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Good People ◽  
Economic Elites ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
The Right ◽  
Radical Left

How is populism distributed over the political spectrum? Are right-wing parties more populist than left-wing parties? Based on the analysis of 32 parties in five Western European countries between 1989 and 2008, we show that radical parties on both the left and the right are inclined to employ a populist discourse. This is a striking finding, because populism in Western Europe has typically been associated with the radical right; only some particular radical left parties have been labeled populist as well. This article suggests that the contemporary radical left in Western Europe is generally populist. Our explanation is that many contemporary radical left parties are not traditionally communist or socialist (anymore). They do not focus on the ‘proletariat’, but glorify a more general category: the ‘good people’. Moreover, they do not reject the system of liberal democracy as such, but only criticize the political and/or economic elites within that system.

How right-wing versus cosmopolitan political actors mobilize and translate images of immigrants in transnational contexts

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Doerr
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
People's Party ◽  
The Right ◽  
Syrian Refugee Crisis

This article examines visual posters and symbols constructed and circulated transnationally by various political actors to mobilize contentious politics on the issues of immigration and citizenship. Following right-wing mobilizations focusing on the Syrian refugee crisis, immigration has become one of the most contentious political issues in Western Europe. Right-wing populist political parties have used provocative visual posters depicting immigrants or refugees as ‘criminal foreigners’ or a ‘threat to the nation’, in some countries and contexts conflating the image of the immigrant with that of the Islamist terrorist. This article explores the transnational dynamics of visual mobilization by comparing the translation of right-wing nationalist with left-wing, cosmopolitan visual campaigns on the issue of immigration in Western Europe. The author first traces the crosscultural translation and sharing of an anti-immigrant poster created by the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), a right-wing political party, inspiring different extremist as well as populist right-wing parties and grassroots activists in several other European countries. She then explores how left-libertarian social movements try to break racist stereotypes of immigrants. While right-wing political activists create a shared stereotypical image of immigrants as foes of an imaginary ethnonationalist citizenship, left-wing counter-images construct a more complex and nuanced imagery of citizenship and cultural diversity in Europe. The findings show the challenges of progressive activists’ attempts to translate cosmopolitan images of citizenship across different national and linguistic contexts in contrast to the right wing’s rapid and effective instrumentalizing and translating of denigrating images of minorities in different contexts.

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