Migrants reverting to Aegean route

The rise of the extreme right under conditions of economic crisis

originally published at Re-public.gr

Dimitris Christopoulos discusses the European politics of far-rights movements, focusing on how extremist discourse has capitalised on the question of migration, especially in the context of the current economic crisis. He argues that the sole lasting and effective anti-racist policy is “the policy of redistribution of wealth, a welfare policy, aiming at strengthening the social security of people. When people are afraid and they feel insecure, then, they are easily influenced by someone who tells them that all this is the fault of poor, unemployed immigrants”.


Z.S.: Do you think that the recent attacks in Norway should push us to rethink the politics of the extreme right in Europe, as they took place in one of the most affluent and tolerant countries in Europe?


Dimitris Christopoulos: As far as I am concerned, and also for a considerable number of activists and intellectuals, the study of the far-right phenomenon in Europe and the vigilance against violent extremist behavior is something that does not originate from Norway. It might have a transient manifestation in Norway but certainly we can anticipate that similar incidents will burst out in the near future. Possibly, not in such intense and extreme forms as in Norway, but definitely far-right violence in Europe is currently reinforced due to the economic crisis. We shouldn’t, therefore, be surprised at the fact that a significant part of the far-right and the extra-systemic versions of far-right discourse increasingly drift towards violence in a systematic way . I would say for certain far-right groups, violence embodies the only tool of political expression, violence is the only spectacular tool for attracting attention.


Z.S.: Would you say that there is a distinct European dimension of the extreme right, not only in ideological terms but also on the organizational level?


Dimitris Christopoulos: First of all, the European far-right shares common roots and origins, which can be located, at least in a medium term historical perspective, on the rise of the fascist and Nazi movements during the interwar period. Specifically, the European far-right is directly connected to the most extreme forms of nationalist discourse, as manifested in its birthplace, namely Europe. The course of the formation and reconstruction of far-right discourse has produced a new version of this discourse which is associated, especially today, with the question of migration. Read the rest of this entry »