The Rise of far right sentiments: A battle for the EU society?
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Every political battle is a battle over the definition of society. Laying the foundations of a post-war Europe was based on democracy, tolerance, unity, cooperation, and the rule of law. Post-war consensus about the values of our societies seemed to be monolithic. But in the past dozen years forgotten far-right sentiments appeared again all over Europe. Extreme right-wing identitarianism rose as a new reactionary voice in many European countries. One of the crucial challenges in the European future will be the battle over the definition of contemporary society. But have the rising far-right sentiments have the potential to disrupt post-war democratic consensus and unity, or is this issue overrated? Far-right sentiments – history and trends Far-right is not a new phenomenon in Europe. Even after the Second World War, waves of far-right phenomena were present in European public discourse. According to German political scientist, Klaus von Beyme waves of this kind of sentiments appeared on several occasions on our continent after 1945. Von Beyme wrote about three waves of far-right advancement in postwar Europe. His analysis also noticed that every wave was more intense and more accepted in the general populace than one before. The new rise of far-right sentiments in Europe can also be proof of a newest wave in Europe. On the other side, according to Dutch political scientist, Cas Mudde, no country is immune to far-right sentiments. In his book “The Far Right Today” he gave arguments that all countries have a fertile ground for at least some form of extreme right-wing stances. This phenomenon can be
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seen through, for example, nativist stances against the foreign-born population, a strong affiliation for brutal punishments for crime, or perception that all political elites are corrupt. These political positions in some part of the population can be a good starting point for development of far-right sentiments. According to the same scientist, political circumstances and major global events since the year 2000 helped in the strengthening of far-right sentiments globally and in Europe. Mudde identified some of the events as the major causes. He wrote that the 11th September attacks and the reaction they sparked, the great recession of 2008 and the so-called ‘migrant crisis’ of 2015 had an indirect impact. Another form of far-right sentiment that is growing in many European countries is anti-Semitism. According to the survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 90% of European Jews say anti-Semitism is getting
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