October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
Immigration has changed the face of Western Europe. Yet mainstream political parties have largely ignored citizens’ concerns about what immigration means for their societies, leaving them ripe for far-right populists to exploit.
October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
The far right celebrated big wins in the 2024 European Union elections, but it has struggled to translate that success into political power. Victory at the ballot box has not made its ideological and organizational divisions any easier to solve.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
Far-right parties in Europe’s newer democracies have been working hard to appeal to younger citizens, and for good reason: Young people’s shifting values make them a ripe target for the far right.
July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3
When Israel’s new government introduced proposals that threatened the judiciary’s independence, the country erupted in protest. These tensions will not soon end. Likud, once a center-right party, is now as populist as the European far right.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
When ordinary voters are given a choice between democracy and partisan loyalty, who will put democracy first? Frighteningly, Europe harbors a deep reservoir of authoritarian potential.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
The government of Giorgia Meloni, the country’s first female prime minister, is popular, scary, and competent. Her far-right party also enjoys greater democratic legitimacy than any other Italian party in a long time.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
The rising, far-right Sweden Democrats keep doing better in Swedish elections. They are now the country’s second-largest party, and their influence on Swedish political life has never been greater.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
After long condemning gay rights, much of Europe’s political right now champions them. They have made welcoming gay voters a sign of modernity and openness—and a tool for stirring opposition to Muslim immigrants.
October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4
The results of the May 2019 elections to the European Parliament—and particularly the growing influence of the populist radical right—reflect a deep transformation of European politics that can largely be traced to the “refugee crisis” of 2015–16.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
With Austria’s and Switzerland’s leading political parties having “rigged the political marketplace” by forming Grand Coalitions, voters have turned to the radical right as the only available alternative.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
The unexpectedly strong showing of media-savvy rightist candidate Joaquín Lavín in the 1999 presidential elections and the move to the center by Concertación candidate Ricardo Lagos suggest that Chile has begun to put the ghosts of Allende and Pinochet to rest.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
Lavín’s strong showing did not represent an “earthquake” or a dramatic change in the electoral landscape. Voting patterns have remained basically unchanged since 1988, giving Lagos a clear mandate to lead Chile into the next millennium.
January 1994, Volume 5, Issue 1
Read the full essay here.
The French president made a big bet, and the far right lost.
If mainstream parties don’t listen to voters, extremists will be rewarded at the ballot box.
He is rude, foul-mouthed, and one of the most popular politicians in the world. Like it or not, Argentina’s chainsaw-wielding president is the new face of populism.
The far-right Alternative for Germany is no longer a mere protest party. It’s tapping into widespread discontent and is surprisingly popular with young voters. Even more, it is reshaping the political future of Germany.
The French president risked it all to hand the far right a stinging loss. But the celebration can’t last long. If the country is to avoid greater political chaos, voters must be encouraged to think about broader coalitions that go beyond a narrow left-right divide.
The far-right AfD surged ahead in the European Union elections. It is now one of Germany’s dominant parties, and not just part of the fringe.
The danger is greater than the rise of far-right parties. In fact, there is a risk that in their eagerness to contain the far right, European leaders may do greater damage to democracy itself.
Hundreds of thousands of Germans are taking to the streets in protest against the country’s far-right parties. Will it shift the tide or leave Germany further divided?
If liberal norms and institutions are to prevail, they need to be defended from the left and the right.
For years, they were a fringe vote. Now they are broadening their agenda, tapping into voter frustration, and getting Germans to favor them once again.
Marine Le Pen has remade her image to obscure her far-right populism. There is a real risk French voters won’t see through it.
