ABSTRACT

This book discusses right-wing extremism by analysing Germanophone research on this topic for the first time in English, including unique survey data from Germany and Austria. Highlighting how questions of terminology can become complicated when country cases are compared, the authors analyse theoretical and methodological issues in relation to the question of right-wing extremism. In Anglo-American academia, the term is often associated with fairly rare phenomena in the form of extremist political groups, whereas in Germany the term is often applied to a wide range of attitudes, behaviours and parties, including those which operate more within the mainstream political sphere.

Covering an array of sub-fields such as right-wing terrorism, iconography of the extreme right and the Germanophone discussion on the differentiation of right-wing populism and right-wing extremism, the authors account not only for the centrality of right-wing extremist attitudes in Germanophone research, but also point at its often overlooked relevance for the phenomenon in general. Offering an important insight into the nuanced definition of right-wing extremism across Europe and enhancing both international debate and cross-country comparative research, this book will be of interest to students and scholars researching extremism, German politics and European politics more generally.

chapter |8 pages

Introduction

German perspectives on right-wing extremism: challenges for comparative analysis
ByJohannes Kiess, Oliver Decker, Elmar Brähler

part I|72 pages

Methodological challenges and innovations for comparative research

chapter 1|19 pages

Comparing right-wing extremist attitudes

Lack of research or lack of theory?
ByJohannes Kiess, Oliver Decker

chapter 2|13 pages

Attitude and agency

Common roots, divergent methodologies, joint ventures?
ByKatrin Reimer-Gordinskaya

part II|82 pages

Comparing right-wing extremism

chapter 5|21 pages

“Fertile soil for ideological confusion”?

The extremism of the centre
ByOliver Decker, Johannes Kiess, Elmar Brähler

chapter 6|18 pages

Fear of social decline and treading on those below?

The role of social crises and insecurities in the emergence and the reception of prejudices in Austria
ByJulia Hofmann

chapter 7|23 pages

Terrorism made in Germany

The case of the NSU
ByMichael Edinger, Eugen Schatschneider

chapter 8|18 pages

Extremist or populist?

Proposing a set of criteria to distinguish right-wing parties in Western Europe
ByTanja Wolf