Far-Right

France’s long and troubled relationship with Islam, and its connexion to a sense of insecurity, is unpacked by Olivier Roy and Esther Benbassa, who also explore the current role of religion in politics in general.

With many of the traditional larger parties in disarray in France, will this and a fatigue with the status quo play to the advantages of so-called outsiders such as Le Pen and Macron?

Is the Freedom Party a prime example of the rise of far-right populism around Europe? Or are things more complicated?

Alexander Van der Bellen’s election as president was a boost for Austrian Greens, but many challenges lie ahead.

An interview with Benjamin de Cleen on nationalism versus populism in Europe, the Flemish far-right, and the limits of the cordon sanitaire.

Tom Vasseur dissects the strategies and methods of the increasingly popular radical right, and suggests the means to an effective Green counterstrategy.

Are the two major party blocs that have dominated European politics since the immediate post-WWII period too big to fail? The evidence suggests not — so what are they going to do about it?

Since the crash of Polish President Lech Kaczyński’s plane in 2010, a period of renewed nationalism centred around Catholicism, conservatism, and an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality has taken hold in Poland. This wave of populism has led to an increase in division and violence.

The architecture of the European Union institutions is flawed.

The recent Austrian elections show there is a lot of discontent with the governing parties and their management of the crises of recent years; in particular the migration crisis, which is an obvious boost for the far right. Nevertheless, to really understand what is happening, one has to consider not only the past and the present, but especially the future.