Wednesday, 19 June 2024 23:51
A short “dictionary” based on the definitions of PopuList, a program involving more than 100 political scientists from more than 30 countries
As the dust settles from the EU election results the Guardian takes a look at some of the terms commonly used to describe Europe’s wide range of far-right parties
For this short “dictionary”, he adopted the definitions of PopuList, a pioneering project involving more than 100 political scientists from more than 30 countries, which categorizes Europe’s political parties and their changing ideologies.
Radical Right
Based on the work of Cas Mudde, an expert on populism and the far right at the University of Georgia, radical right parties are defined as those that espouse two main ideologies: nativism (considered the most important) and authoritarianism .
Nativism is the belief that “states should be inhabited exclusively by native populations as ‘non-native elements’ fundamentally threaten the nation-state”.
This explains the central focus on immigration of radical right-wing parties such as Marine Le Pen’s National Alarm (RN) in France, the Freedom Party (PVV) in the Netherlands, Vox in Spain or Fidesz in Hungary.
Nativism is a prominent form of exclusion— radical right parties are always opposed to groups other than non-natives, such as followers of different religions (Muslims, for example) or different genders and sexual orientations.
Far right
Far-right parties share the same two central ideologies as radical right-wing parties, but unlike them, their ultimate goal is the overthrow of the existing democratic order, and they have no objection to violence to achieve their goals.
While participating in elections, the Dutch Forum for Democracy (FvD), which promotes conspiracy theories, is generally considered far-right, as was the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn in Greece.
Far right
Many political scientists, including those on The PopuList, use the term “Far right” as a general designation for parties considered radical or far-right.
This may be because there is uncertainty about which category a party falls into – for example, because some elements within a party may be more extreme than others, so their messages are different.
“In practice, it is often difficult to decide,” said Matthijs Rooduijn, lead member of The PopuList team. “Some members of a far right party may articulate extremist crowns, but in their official statements they are simply radical”
Parties that are only moderately far-right, or whose positions have moderated over time, can be described as borderline far-right.
Populists
Populist parties – with populism being a characteristic also found in parties considered to be left – again using the definition proposed by Mudde, are defined as those that support the idea that society is divided into two homogeneous and competitive groups, the “incorruptible people’ against a ‘corrupt elite’.
Populist parties also argue that politics should be “an expression of the will of the people”. Anything that stands between the “will of the people” and policy-making—see, a free press, an independent judiciary—is not acceptable.
Many, but not all, far-right parties are obviously populist as well. When this happens, however, “it’s always better to point it out,” points out Rooduijn,
“Only the term ‘populist’ can make them seem more moderate than they are.”
Hard right
The hard right is a term that has been widely used by the media , including the Guardian. Rooduijn recommends not using it.
“I think it’s more confusing than anything else,” he said.
Often, the term is used to describe parties that may have softened their tone or positions during the election campaign or when in government. “Parties change over time – they can become more or less moderate,” Rooduijn said.
“But we avoid changing party categorizations when they are in government. Parties must compromise if they are in a coalition with more moderate partners, they must be less radical. But once they come out of the partnerships, you often see that their identity hasn’t changed.”
Conservatives, Eurosceptics, climate sceptics
To a greater or lesser extent, Europe’s far-right parties – apart from their core of nativism and other exclusionary ideologies and their basically populist approach – can share a multitude of other ideological positions.
To a varying degree, many are also Eurosceptic, with beliefs ranging from outright rejection of the whole enterprise of European political and economic integration to their country’s participation in the EU, subject to reservations and conditions.
Some, especially in central and eastern Europe, are ultra-conservative, promoting notions of duty, patriotism and traditional values, family structures, “acceptable” gender roles and sexual relations.
More and more are also becoming climate change deniers, either rejecting the science of climate change entirely or reacting and seeking to delay efforts to green the transition.
Also, many are totalitarian – aiming to take over the judiciary and the media, usurping constitutional institutions, attacking civil society as well as woke culture.
But what matters more, Rooduijn said, is the underlying ideology: Is it nativist, rejecting “foreign” groups, authoritarian?
Then you have a far-right party.
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Newsessentials Blog 
Posted on June 19, 2024
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