ABSTRACT
In October 2020, a landmark court verdict in Greece’s highest-profile political trial in decades was met with jubilation after the Neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn was found guilty of running a criminal organisation. Despite the party’s fall, the threat of violent extremism in Greece has not receded. Although right-wing extremism is a relatively new phenomenon in Greek politics, its causes are deeply rooted in society and politics. A dual crisis in the 2010s, both financial and humanitarian, provided fertile ground for the rise of political extremism. Indeed, right-wing extremism, hate speech, and violence have largely targeted immigrants and religious minorities. Far-right extremists, in particular, exploit popular fears by propagating views of immigrants and religious ‘Others’ as ‘usurpers’, thus advancing a racist and ethnicist rhetoric in public discourse. Three factors that have played a crucial role in shaping the trends of extremism and social polarisation in Greece are: the political factor; the religious factor; and the media. This chapter offers an overview of recent trends of violent extremism and social polarisation in Greece and assesses some of the resilience-based projects implemented in response.
