Europe under strain: political extremism aspects

[Fuchs]

I'm more concerned by authoritarians who are not openly extremist (gun-toting, tattooed, bald head and stuff), but manager to get government powers.

I'm thinking about Hungary and Romania here.
These countries are about to become political untouchables in the EU because of their deviation from democracy and hard turn towards right wing authoritarian governments with controlled media etc.

[davidbfpo]

The full title of this paper is 'The Roots of Extremism: The English Defence League and the Counter-Jihad Challenge', which uses polling data from October 2012 and one point is:

The data indicate that supporters of such groups are not just young, uneducated, economically insecure or politically apathetic. They are not simply anti-Muslim or overtly racist, but xenophobic and profoundly hostile towards immigration. They expect inter-communal conflict and believe violence is justifiable. And their beliefs about the threatening nature of Islam have wider public support.

Link:http://www.chathamhouse.org/publicat...rs/view/189767

There is data on whether institutions are trusted which indicate politicians and parliament have shrinking credibility.

[J Wolfsberger]

There is data on whether institutions are trusted which indicate politicians and parliament have shrinking credibility.

I would add Chatham House as one of the institutions on that list. I've only skimmed it so far, and owe you a better response after I read it again and think a bit about it, but ...

The author's assumption seems to that people should sit passively while watching their culture dismantled by those same politicians, parliaments and institutions, all of whom cheerfully explain that the culture was irredeemably evil. Those who aren't passive about it are "extremists."

As the saying goes "Well, there's yer problem."

(This one jumped out: "... groups like the defence leagues have essentially outflanked mainstream elites, developing successful narratives around a perceived ‘threat’ that is not being addressed, namely Islam ..." That the author thinks this extremism can be explained, even partially, in terms of dueling narratives is an example of what's causing that "shrinking credibility.")

[Firn]

I'm more concerned by authoritarians who are not openly extremist (gun-toting, tattooed, bald head and stuff), but manager to get government powers.

I'm thinking about Hungary and Romania here.
These countries are about to become political untouchables in the EU because of their deviation from democracy and hard turn towards right wing authoritarian governments with controlled media etc.

This is a big concern indeed. In Italy we have a terrible record of governance and it is absolutely correct to talk about a political caste, especially in some regions. We also had laws made for a single person and attempts to modify the constitution to get the president more power - designed by the same person - but so far there has been no stark turn towards an authoritarian state.

Now Grillo does behave like a little dictator in the M5S and is the face and the voice of the movement but I do think that a lot of it has to do with the understandable fear that other politcal forces - especially on the right - might once again to buy votes and undermine the M5S. While it may sound wild the richest man in politics faces two unrelated trial for doing just that...

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Democracy is an ongoing process and no final, steady state. Sadly looking east towards Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Belorussia and Russia we have plenty of such examples...