Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse

摘要

Aside from its obvious interest to students and academics fronva range of disciplines such as the social sciences, discourse analysis, cultural studies, history and contemporary politics, this eye-opening collection of essays ought to be required reading for all policy makers. Politicians from the left, but also religious leaders and those in a position to influence public thought directly, such as journalists (in the short term) and teachers (in the longer term), would do well to pay attention to the specific causes of the swing to the extreme right cited in each of the case studies. One thing that emerges clearly from the pages of this book, indeed one of its most important messages, is the high level of coordination and communication between right-wing groups throughout Europe. This, in conjunction with an increasingly sophisticated exposition of the generic right-wing agenda, is what makes the current convergence on simplistic, extremist philosophies so dangerous, and, as the editors and individual contributors make clear, it is the reason why an immediate and concerted effort is required to combat it. Any such effort to counter this frightening trend can only succeed if it is based on exactly the kind of detailed information of the relevant phenomena presented in this collection of essays, and if it encompasses a differentiated engagement with the core issues. This volume is set to become the cornerstone of an appropriate and robust sociopolitical edifice within which the problem can be tackled thoroughly, efficiently and with sustainable results.