ABSTRACT
This chapter explores an array of critical issues from the rise of right-wing nationalism in Eastern Europe and the emergence of populist conservative forces in Western Europe to a broad elucidation of more mainstream, broad-based conservatism and its relationship to democracy and speculations on the future of radical politics. Nonetheless, in each country, including the former East Germany, the extremist political milieu had its roots in unique historical and cultural circumstances. Brian Girvin's The Right in the Twentieth Century is a sweeping analysis of the evolution of conservative ideology. Though primarily concerned with the contemporary era, Girvin begins with a discussion relevant especially to Hans-George Betz and Anthony Giddens, that being the relationship between conservatism and modernity. What is striking about the "new right" in Western Europe are the parallels with recent development in the United States, particularly the backlash against liberal immigration and social preference policies.
