Introduction

Conventional wisdom would have believe that right-wing activity represents the marginal influence of right-wing radicals who have only a peripheral influence on the political mainstream, which has shown it to be highly resilient to attacks upon it. The practical political implications of the pluralist perspective for those interested in combating the right wing is to unmask the loony Right agenda for “what it really is” and thus expose right-wing radicals as extremists beyond the pale, that is, outside the legitimate political spectrum. The complex assemblage of symbolic themes within the right-wing worldview is helping to forge a new political imagination and right-wing consensus that links recipes for national revival to often exclusionary images of the national community. The project of unraveling the Right carries important implications for both understanding and combating the rise of right-wing ideas and policies. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.