Over the past couple of decades, far-right parties and leaders have moved from the fringes to the forefront of global politics. Figures like Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, Giorgia Meloni, and Narendra Modi or parties like the AFD, who were once seen as outliers or shrugged off altogether, now command mass followings, win elections or come close to winning, and shape global political discourse in a big way. They are now in concretely the mainstream. Their rhetoric may differ across borders, but many share common strategies: scapegoating marginalised groups, exploiting economic anxiety, and leveraging democratic institutions to erode them from within. We see similar trends in Malaysia too. 

The question is how did we get here?

The last time we spoke to German political scientist, Dr Frederik Holst, Associate Professor, Albukhary International University (AIU),  we discussed Germany’s right-wing movement specifically. Today, we are once again joined by Dr Frederik to have an in-depth conversation about global far-right movements. In Part 1 we discuss the similarities and differences between various far-right movements and if fascism is the right word to categorise them.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Dashran Yohan

Presented by: Dashran Yohan

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Categories:  international,  politics,  controversies

Tags:  the bigger picture,  beyond the ballot box,  fascism,  authoritarianism,  dictatorship,  far-right movement,  xenophobia,  right-wing populism,