Two Paradigmatic Views on Right-Wing Populism in East Germany

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 29-42
Author(s):  
Jonas Rädel
Keyword(s):  
East Germany ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
German Unification ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Complex Phenomenon ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Eastern Germany ◽  
Geographic Space ◽  
East German ◽  
Right Wing Populism

In German public perceptions, right-wing populism is cast as a specifically east German problem. This article critically examines how this assumption is located within the debate on German unity. In order to clarify the sometimes-confusing arguments on German unification, two paradigmatic perspectives can be identified: German unity can be approached from a perspective of modernization, or through the lens of postcolonial critique. When it comes to right-wing populism in eastern Germany, the modernization paradigm suffers from a lack of understanding. Hence, the arguments of the postcolonial perspective must be taken seriously, particularly as the postcolonial reading can grasp the complex phenomenon of right-wing populism in east Germany, and prevent the discursive and geographic space of the region from being conquered by right-wing political actors.

Canada voting system will hinder right-wing populism

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Business Leadership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Voting System ◽  
Right Wing Populism

Significance Trudeau’s government has been held up as a bulwark of liberalism given the surge of anti-immigration populist candidates and parties in Europe and the United States. However, two leadership candidates in the Conservative race have sought to ape the political style and policy agenda that brought Donald Trump to power in the United States. Mainstream Canadian political actors are seeking to either counter or benefit electorally from rising distrust in government, fears over immigration and integration, and communitarian focus on Islam within right-wing politics. Impacts Opposition to the Trump presidency may help unify fractious left-leaning Canadian voters behind the Liberals. However, the social-democratic New Democratic Party will cite Trudeau-Trump cooperation to peel off progressive voters. Alienation of anti-immigration Conservatives will increase under libertarian or pro-business leadership.

scholarly journals Denying Difference to the Post-Socialist Other: Bernhard Heisig and the Changing Reception of an East German Artist

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 45-74
Author(s):  
April A. Eisman
Keyword(s):  
East Germany ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
German Unification ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
East And West Germany ◽  
Before And After ◽  
East German

This article traces the reception of East German artist Bernhard Heisig’s life and art—first in East Germany and then in the Federal Republic of Germany before and after the Wall. Drawing on post-colonial and post-socialist scholarship, it argues that Heisig’s reception exemplifies a western tendency to deny cultural and ideological difference in what the post-socialist scholar Piotr Piotrowski calls the “close Other.” This denial of difference to artists from the eastern bloc has shaped western understandings of Heisig’s life and art since reunification. Once perceived as an intellectually engaged, political artist, both in East and West Germany, after the fall of the Wall and German unification, Heisig was reinterpreted as a traumatized victim of two dictatorships, distorting not only our understanding of the artist and his work, but also of the nature of art and the role of the artist in East Germany.

‘Another brick in the wall’. On the origins of nationalism in the ‘new’ federal states of Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-125
Author(s):  
A. V. Belinskii ◽  
M. V. Khorol’skaya
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Local Population ◽  
German Economy ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
East German

A relatively broad support enjoyed by the populist and nationalist parties and movements (AfD, National Democratic Party of Germany, PEGIDA), as well as a higher rate of hate crimes in the eastern part of the Federal Republic of Germany raise a question on the nature of nationalism in this region. The present paper examines the causes of widespread xenophobic and nationalist sentiments in the ‘new’ federal states. To this end, the authors address a wide range of social-political and psychological factors, focusing on the historical roots and causes of the recent rise of nationalism in East Germany. Particularly, the authors show that the right-wing parties took advantage of popular frustration caused by the collapse of the East German economy after the country’s reunification and massive unemployment by putting all the blame on migrants. Nevertheless, the causes of growing xenophobia in East Germany were far from being solely economic. For example, the authors underline the role of the politics of memory in the GDR and primarily the approaches of its leaders to the issues of the Nazi past and their attempts to draw on the country’s history to shape a new national identity. However, the failure of the state to provide an unbiased view on the national history, rigid official ideology and its alienation from the popular demands have led to the growing nationalism in the GDR. Besides, a number of other aspects is pointed out which have also fostered xenophobic sentiments in this part of the country. Unlike West Germany which started to accept labour migrants from Italy, Turkey and Yugoslavia back in 1950s, the GDR saw few foreigners and contacts between them and local population were limited. As a result, the paper not only helps to create a more detailed image of the East German nationalism but also to identify the underlying causes of the growing popularity of right-wing populist parties and movements in the FRG, most notably, the unfinished process of the country’s reunification and structural imbalances between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ federal states.

Sorget nicht - Kritik der Sorge

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Modern Society ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Complex Phenomenon ◽  
The Face ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
State Of Affairs

In the face of the overall state of affairs in society, which seems to be characterised by crises, (right-wing) populism, uncertainty and radicalisation, the concept of ‘concern’ appears to be a key idea in modern society. The underlying idea behind the discussion compiled in this book is to investigate concern from the perspective of a carefree attitude. Such an approach might provide us with a clearer understanding of the multifaceted and complex phenomenon of concern. Concern can be regarded as the manifestation of a longing for a carefree life without the burden of tedious tasks or demands that are too high. However, concern can also be understood as something active—being carefree through lovingly caring for someone or behaving responsibly. This study’s approach of incorporating the idea of being carefree into the debate about concern makes the ambiguity of this concept clear: concern both inhibits and incentivises action; it is both restrictive and empowering. With contributions by Reiner Anselm, Robert Gugutzer, Annette Schnabel, Steffi Hobuß

scholarly journals Right-Wing Populism and Religion in Europe and the USA

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 490
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Haynes
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Political Purpose ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
And Behavior

The aim of this paper is to examine comparatively the growth and political effectiveness of right-wing populism in Western Europe, Central Europe, and the USA since 9/11. The focus is on such politicians’ vilification of Islam as a faith and Muslims as a people. The paper examines the following research question: how and why do right-wing populists in the USA and Europe use an ideological form of “Christianity”, known variously as “Christianism” or “Christian civilizationism”, to vilify Muslims and Islam? The political purpose seems obvious: to influence public perceptions and to win votes by questioning the desirability of Muslims in both the USA and Europe, claiming that Muslims’ religious and cultural attributes make them unacceptable as neighbors. As Muslims are not capable, so the argument goes, of assimilating to European or American norms, values, and behavior, then they must be excluded or strongly controlled for the benefit of nativist communities. Right-wing populists in both the USA and Europe pursue this strategy because they see it as chiming well with public opinion at a time of great uncertainty, instability, and insecurity.

The Radical Right in Israel

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arie Perliger ◽  
Ami Pedahzur
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
The State ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Radical Right Parties ◽  
Right Wing Populism

In a landmark article, Sammy Smooha, a prominent scholar of Israel’s regime, argued that as an ethnic democracy, Israel was unlikely to witness the emergence of “European-style” radical right-wing populism. The gist of the argument was that in ethnic democracies the state already occupies the ideological spaces that radical right-wing parties fill in liberal democracies, leaving such ideologies no room to evolve. In contrast to Smooha, this chapter considers ethnic democracies as fertile grounds for the growth of radical right politics. It maintains that such regimes facilitate the entrenchment of radical-right sentiments within significant parts of the population and political system, and consequently further facilitate the radicalization of radical-right parties that seek to distinguish themselves from other political actors. The chapter tests this argument via an analysis of the various ideological pillars of the Israeli radical right.

Politische Bildung in Zeiten des Rechtspopulismus

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-73
Author(s):  
Michael Görtler
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Peace Education ◽  
Political Education ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Politische Bildung ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
A Current

Abstract Political Education in Times of right-wing Populism. Pedagogical and Didactical Approaches to Deal with a current Threat to Peace Right-wing populism challenges the societies in Europe. The rise of such movements and parties are a threat to peace and democracy in Germany. This article focuses the possibilities as well as the boundaries of political education under the current circumstances. To this end, it discusses theoretical explanations based on approaches in peace education, political didactics and social sciences to deal with right-wing populism in practice.

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