Summary of the Presentation on….
Radical Right Politics in Europe
By Leonard Weinberg
Professor Leonard Weinberg’s presentation focused on three topics all linked to the rise of radical right-wing politics in Europe. These topics included the rise of radical right-wing populist parties in both Western and Eastern Europe, right-wing political violence, including acts of terrorism, and the changing nature of anti-Semitism in the 21st century.
First, the presentation stressed the fact that older pro-Nazi and pro- Fascist political parties, with their agendas and rhetoric, had been replaced by newer radical right populist parties, as in Austria and France, that addressed important current voter concerns, especially fears about the Islamization of Europe. These newer right-wing parties have enjoyed considerable success at the polls including Poland and Hungary.
Second: Radical right-wing groups and ‘lone wolves’ have carried out a long list of violent attacks on groups and individuals they regard as racial and religious enemies. In addition to street-corner attacks by youth gangs on Muslims from the Middle East, (Roma) Gypsies, and sub-Saharan immigrants, there have also been a number of terrorist attacks. The most spectacular of these attacks was a series of killings of Turks, ones carried out in Germany by members of the National Socialist Underground, and the mass murder in Norway of young Social Democrats at a weekend retreat by Anders Breivik, a lone wolf worried about the threat to European civilization posed by Muslim immigrants.
Third, anti-Semitism, long a staple of right-wing movements in Europe, East and West, has undergone significant changes. In recent years attacks on European Jews have tended to be carried out by Arab youth, especially in France, and far Left groups out of hatred for Israel, defined as an outpost of western imperialism and the oppressor of the Palestinian people.
On balance, the prospects for the radical right in Europe appear pretty bright!
The link to Dr. Weinberg’s PowerPoint is below.