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War of Words (right-wing extremism)

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This article concerns the academic debate surronding the extreme-right. For other meanings see Wikipedia:War of Words
The 'war of words' is a dispute surronding how to define the ideologies of parties such as the Wikipedia:British National Party

The War of Words is a name given to an academic Wikipedia:debate concerning the most appropriate way of defining the ideologies of right-wing extremist parties.[1] Within this debate different scholars disagree as to the number and combination of ideological features that qualify a party as right-wing extremist as well as the different typologies used to distinguish between parties within this family. As Liang describes this "academic field is especially peculiar about its terminology. Each label carries with it a specific understanding of this family of politicl parties as well as a particular set of assumptions regarding their origins and electoral success".[2] In the most extensive survey of the literature on this topic the academic Wikipedia:Cas Mudde found twenty-six definitions of right-wing extremism that contained fifty-seven different ideological features.[3] Along side the theoretical debate concerning the nature of these parties there is also an empirical debate concerning who speaks for right-wing extremist parties and how to measure their ideology given that many if not all reject the right-wing extremist label being applied to them.

Falter and Schumann

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Jurgen Falter and Siegfried Schumann define right-wing extremism with reference to ten ideological features which they believe constitutes a core extreme right ideology.[4]

  • Hyper-nationalism
  • Ethnocentralism
  • Anti-communism
  • Anti-parliamentarianism
  • Anti-pluralism
  • Militarism
  • Law and order thinking
  • A demand for a strong leader
  • Anti-Americanism
  • Cultural pessimism

Cas Mudde

In Cas Mudde's 1995 article he identifies five key features based on the fact that they appear in 50% of the definitions of the extreme-right that he surveyed.[5]

  • Nationalism
  • Racism
  • Xenophobia
  • Anti-democracy
  • Belief in a strong state

However in later writings he rejected this earlier work and argued in favour of a definition based upon three features: authoritarianism, populism and nativism.

Radical or Extreme?

One of the disputes within the 'war of words' is whether parties that belong to this group should be labelled radical or extreme.[6] The distinction between 'radical' and 'extreme' is one made by the Wikipedia:German Federal Constitutional Court when determining whether a party can be banned.

Right?

Another debate that forms part of the 'war of words' is the what the label 'right' implies when applied to the extreme-right. This is because many parties labelled as right-wing extremist despite tending to advance Wikipedia:neo-liberal and free market agendas as late as the 1980s now tend to have economic policies more traditionally associated with the left (anti-globalisation, nationalisation and protectionism). One approach drawing on the writings of Wikipedia:Norberto Bobbio argues that attitudes towards equality are what distinguishes between left and right and therefore allows these parties to be positioned on the right of a Wikipedia:political spectrum.

Fascist or Neo-fascist?

There is debate about how appropriate the labels fascist or neo-fascist are. According to Wikipedia:Cas Mudde 'the labels Neo-Nazi and to a lesser extent neo-fascism are now used exclusively for parties and groups that explicitly state a desire to restore the Third Reich or quote historical Wikipedia:National Socialism as their ideological influence'. [6]


Carter view

According to Elizabeth Carter the two defining features of a right-wing extremist party are:

  • A rejection of fundamental human equality (something that makes these parties right-wing)[7]
  • A rejection of the fundamental democratic values of the state (something that makes these parties extremist)[8]


Terminology

A non-exhaustive list of terms and labels used with reference to the extreme right include variations of the following:

Academics who have written on the 'war of words'

Further reading

  • Husbands, C. (1992), ‘The Other Face of 1992: The Extreme-Right Explosion in Western Europe’, Parliamentary Affairs, 45/3: 267-283
  • Mudde, C. (1995), ‘Right-Wing Extremism Analyzed: A Comparative Analysis of the Ideologies of Three Alleged Right-Wing Extremist Parties (NPD, NDP, CP’86)’, European Journal of Political Research, 27/2: 203-224
  • Goodwin, M.J. (2005) Beyond the War of Words? The Extreme Right Paradigm in the Twenty-First Century, Political Perspectives, Issue 2

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mudde, C. (1996), ‘The War of Words: Defining The Extreme Right Party’, West European Politics, 19/2: 225-248
  2. ↑ Liang, C. (2007) Europe for the Europeans: The Foreign and Security Policy of the Populist Radical Right, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, p. 284-285
  3. ↑ Fenemma, M. (1997), Some Conceptual Issues and Problems in the Comparison of Anti-Immigrant Parties in Western Europe, Party Politics October 1997 vol. 3 no. 4 473-492
  4. ↑ Klandermaus, B. and Mayer, N. (2006), Extreme Right Activists in Europe: Through the Magnifying Glass, Routledge: Abingdon, p. 4
  5. ↑ Mudde, C. (1995), ‘Right-Wing Extremism Analyzed: A Comparative Analysis of the Ideologies of Three Alleged Right-Wing Extremist Parties (NPD, NDP, CP’86)’, European Journal of Political Research, 27/2: 206
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mudde, C. (2007), The Ideology of the Extreme Right Manchester: Manchester University Press, p. 12
  7. ↑ Carter, E. (2005), The Extreme Right in Western Europe: Success or Failure?, Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 13-23
  8. ↑ Carter, E. (2005), The Extreme Right in Western Europe: Success or Failure?, Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 13-23
  9. ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 Mudde, C. (2007), Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 11-12
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Flecker, J. (2007), Changing Work Life and the Appeal of the Extreme-Right, Adershot: Ashgate Publishing, p. 11
  11. ↑ Liang, C. (2007) Europe for the Europeans: The Foreign and Security Policy of the Populist Radical Right, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, p. 284-285
  12. ↑ Givens, T. (2005), Voting Radical Right in Western Europe, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 47
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