Renaissance of the New Right in Germany? A Discussion of New Right Elements in German Right-wing Extremism Today

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Salzborn
Keyword(s):  
New Right ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Emergence Of Institutions ◽  
New Type ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Wing Extremism

Right-wing extremism in Germany has recently undergone considerable changes with a new right-wing party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) successfully entering several local state parliaments as well as the European Parliament, “Pegida” demonstrations representing a new type of public action in terms of social movements, and the emergence of institutions like the Library of Conservatism and magazine projects like Sezession. This article considers whether such developments could be seen as a renaissance of the “New Right”, representing a long-term success in its strategies. Since the 1970s, the strategy of the New Right has been based on promoting a culturally conservative metapolitics in the pursuit of “cultural hegemony”, meaning to influence public opinion in the Federal Republic of Germany and shift it to the right— which at first glance might seem to have succeeded in light of recent events. The developments seen in German far-right extremism, however, have been neither monocausal nor monolithic. Therefore, this article will take a closer look at various aspects of the idea that recent changes in Germany’s rightwing extremism might represent a successful implementation of this New Right strategy.

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.

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.

scholarly journals Confederacy — the polish new right wing between tradition and modernity

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 7-32
Author(s):  
Jarosław Tomasiewicz
Keyword(s):  
New Right ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
Economic Liberalism ◽  
Social Basis ◽  
Cultural Conservatism ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
The Right

Konfederacja Wolność i Niepodległość (Confederacy for Freedom and Independence) is new, far-right force in Poland. Success of the KWiN broke political monopoly of the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice) party on the right wing. The paper examines structure, strategy, ideology and social basis of the Confederacy. This new formation amalgamating cultural conservatism and economic liberalism is similar rather to American Trumpism and alt-right than the protest movements of Western-European right wing populism.

scholarly journals “One Knows the Tree by the Fruit That It Bears:” Mircea Eliade’s Influence on Current Far-Right Ideology

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 250
Author(s):  
Mark Weitzman
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Extreme Right ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Political Aspect ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
History Of ◽  
Publishing Houses ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Wing Extremism

Since the notorious Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, the alt-right has surged into prominence as the most visible expression of right-wing extremism. While most analysts have focused on the political aspect of the movement, my article will explore the spiritual and religious roots and connections of the movement. In particular, I will focus on how Mircea Eliade, one of the most prominent figures in the academic study of the history of religion in the late 20th century, is viewed by many current extreme right thinkers. Drawing on the writings of some of the leading theoreticians and inspirations of the alt-right such as Julius Evola, Alain de Benoist, Aleksandr Dugin and Richard Spencer, as well as the prominent extreme right publishing houses, Arktos and Counter-Currents, I will show how Eliade’s extremely controversial and problematic past is seen as an intellectual and even spiritual source for these leading figures.

scholarly journals Why Should We Care What Extremists Think? The Contribution of Emic Perspectives to Understanding the “right-wing extremist” Mind-Set

2021 ◽  
pp. 089124162110411
Author(s):  
Hilary Pilkington
Keyword(s):  
Academic Research ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Right Wing Extremism

This article considers the implications of the mainstreaming of ‘right-wing extremism’ for what, and whom, we understand as ‘extreme’. It draws on ethnographic research (2017-2020) with young people active in movements routinely referred to in public and academic discourse as ‘extreme right’ or ‘far right’. Based on interviews, informal communication and observation, the article explores how actors in the milieu understand ‘extremism’ and how far this corresponds to academic and public conceptualisations of ‘right-wing extremism’, in particular cognitive ‘closed-mindedness’. Emic perspectives are not accorded privileged authenticity. Rather, it is argued, critical engagement with them reveals the important role of ethnographic research in gaining insight into, and challenging what we know about, the ‘mind-set’ of right-wing extremists. Understanding if such a mind-set exists, and if it does, in what it consists, matters, if academic research is to inform policy and practice to counter socially harmful practices among those it targets effectively.

scholarly journals Ultra-Right Terrorism in the West in the 21st Century: Trends and Features

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
A. Yashlavskii
Keyword(s):  
Hate Speech ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Extreme Right ◽  
Far Right ◽  
The West ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Type ◽  
Right Wing Extremism

An alarming trend observed in the 2010s was the growth of ultra-right terrorism in Western countries. Being a highly heterogeneous phenomenon, extreme right-wing extremism is fueled by crises of the socio-economic and spiritual order in Western societies. A feature of the development of this phenomenon in the last decade is the assertion by supporters of ultra-right extremist ideas about themselves as a “shield” protecting the West not only from the “invasion” of alien migrants, but also from the danger of Islamist terrorism. The reorientation of right-wing extremists towards “anti-jihadism” can be partly explained by the desire to arrange a “restyling” of the ultra-right movements in order to give them not only the appearance of greater moderation, but also in a sense to legitimize their attitudes as a force opposing Islamist terrorists. However, an analysis of the theory and practice of extreme right-wing terrorists demonstrates similarities with terrorism of the “jihadist” kind in many respects. Militant Islamists and far-right extremists alike deny tolerance, rely on violence, spread hatred and mistrust. Both those and other terrorists use a similar “hate speech”. In a sense, “jihadists” and ultra-right extremists are necessary for each other, because each side finds a different explanation and justification for its own crimes in actions. The crisis phenomena generated by the global pandemic of a new type of coronavirus in 2020 not only contributed to the activation of propaganda by supporters of ultra-right ideas, but created objective conditions for these ideas to resonate with some Westerners. Accordingly, this poses a severe threat of both expanding the social base of ultra-right movements and the implementation of new acts of violence.

Aspects of the New Right-Wing Extremism

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 422-423
Author(s):  
Kathleen Webb Tunney
Keyword(s):  
New Right ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Right Wing Extremism

scholarly journals Political philosophy and Australian far-right media: A critical discourse analysis of The Unshackled and XYZ

Thesis Eleven ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 072551362110086
Author(s):  
Imogen Richards ◽  
Maria Rae ◽  
Matteo Vergani ◽  
Callum Jones
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
New Right ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Global Media ◽  
Far Right ◽  
News Websites ◽  
Conservative Revolution ◽  
Social Conservatism ◽  
European New Right

A 21st-century growth in prevalence of extreme right-wing nationalism and social conservatism in Australia, Europe, and America, in certain respects belies the positive impacts of online, new, and alternative forms of global media. Cross-national forms of ‘far-right activism’ are unconfined to their host nations; individuals and organisations campaign on the basis of ethno-cultural separatism, while capitalising on internet-based affordances for communication and ideological cross-fertilisation. Right-wing revolutionary ideas disseminated in this media, to this end, embody politico-cultural aims that can only be understood with attention to their philosophical underpinnings. Drawing on a dataset of articles from the pseudo-news websites, XYZ and The Unshackled, this paper investigates the representation of different rightist political philosophical traditions in contemporary Australia-based far-right media. A critical discourse and content analysis reveal XYZ and TU’s engagement with various traditions, from Nietzsche and the Conservative Revolution, to the European New Right and neo-Nazism.

Crossing the left-right party divide? Understanding the electoral success of the Czech Pirate Party in the 2017 parliamentary elections

Politics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 510-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Maškarinec
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Parliamentary Election ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Spatial Perspective ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
The Right ◽  
Leftist Parties ◽  
Spatial Support

In the 2017 Czech parliamentary election, the Czech Pirate Party (Pirates) gained 10.79% of the votes – an unprecedented success, compared to most of the pirate parties across Europe. However, as their electoral gain varies widely across the Czech Republic’s territory, this article analyses all (more than 6000) Czech municipalities in the elections of 2010, 2013, and 2017 to explain this variation. Overall, the success of the Pirates was driven especially by obtaining much more support in larger municipalities with younger populations (although not only those aged 18–24 but also older ones), lower unemployment, higher turnout, and lower support for leftist parties. Thus, from a spatial perspective, the patterns of Pirate voting largely resembled long-term spatial support for Czech rightist parties and we can conclude that the Pirates made considerable inroads to regions which had historically been strongholds of the Civic Democratic Party, as the former main party of the right, but also strongholds of minor right-wing (‘liberal centre’) parties of the 1990s and early 2000s. Success of the Pirates thus was based especially on votes from municipalities located in more developed areas, where the Pirates received many more votes than in structurally disadvantaged regions.

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