New Politics of the Right

In the early 1980s right-wing populist parties and movements began to stage a dramatic comeback throughout a growing number of democratically-based countries. Appealing to public anxieties in the wake of rapid economic change, these movements succeeded in mobilizing and exploiting popular resentments against immigrants, minorities, and the political establishment. As a result, the radical populist Right has become a severe and potentially destabilizing threat to the democratic system. In New Politics of the Right, a top-notch array of scholars analyzes the recent wave of right-wing populist organization in four different regions of the world: Western Europe, North America, South Asia, and Australia/New Zealand. Each chapter provides a brief history of right-wing activity in that given country, an examination of the right-wing program, a discussion of its support, and an account of its impact on the established political parties. The authors then offer chilling predictions of what to expect in the future given continued upheavals in the global economy. New Politics of the Right is a comprehensive look at the dangerous spread of right-wing radicalism throughout the “free” world.

Hans-Georg Betz is Associate Professor of European Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of Postmodern Politics in Germany and Radical Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe.

Stefan Immerfall is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Passau in Germany.