How Serious a Threat to Democracy Is the Far Right in Europe Today - Essay Example

? Democracy in Europe and the Threat of the Far Right The political dynamics in the recent decades have invoked a new far right wingto the fundamental of democracy. This threat can be referred as the uncivil society. It has proven to be far more fluid in nature as opposed to its predecessor which was the subversive political party. New challenges have been introduced to the regimes in search for stability. Contrary to the decline of parties and trade off theses, it has been argued that the far right parties and the uncivil society are jointly operating in order to advocate for similar goals. Notably, such goals present a double threat to the liberal democracies, for instance those operating from the surroundings’ and the ones operating from with the parliaments. This paper seeks to discuss the threat the far right on democracy with a view to elucidate on the likelihood of a repeat of history. Having that in mind, the structure within the political system that has allowed the expansion of democracy enemies and the emergence of new enemies of democracy will be discussed. Finally the paper will evaluate whether the uncivil society has out staged the subversive political party which as the major source of extremism or whether it actively cooperates with the same extremism. For most people, memories of the last century are still fresh in their minds. As such, studies have indicated that majority of the people remembers the last decades of the twentieth century as decade characterized by ethnocentric, violent, xenophobia, and racism (Betz, 1994). Most of the horrifying ethnic cleansing and mass killings that took place in Africa and the Balkans are more vivid than before. Still, Western Europe has not escaped the bitter manifestations brought about by political extremism more particularly in the far right wing parties. To add insult to injury, a Neo Nazi subculture is continuously thriving and several incidences of violent attacks against immigrants and refugees have become a norm in the society (Mikenberg, 2000). Democracies by their nature have opened the gates on debate, struggle against resources and power, as well as, competitive political activities. Majority of the citizen are oblivious to the facts that, such freedom within the western democracy serve as the moral basis for the legitimacy of the regimes. However, other citizens although fewer in number, continue to exploit the same freedom so as to challenge existing political systems with a view of undermining equality, civil rights liberty, and at times seriously endangering them (Katz and Mair, 1995). For quite a number of decades, a radical political system was the major cause of the major cause of these challenges. From the late nineteenth century and onwards, including the World War II, democratic regimes incorporated legal measures to exclude the far right parties from the political game (Betz, 1994). In this manner, liberal democracies acted in a manner to ensure their own stability. However, political dynamics within the last decade has led to the emergence of new forms of threat to the stability of the existing democracies. In this context, such threat is referred to as the uncivil society. Notably, such threat seem to more fluid in the structure and the nature of the political parties, thus presenting an even much greater challenge than the subversive political parties towards the democratic regimes in search for measures to ensure stability. In this study, we contend that, in the 21 century achieving stability by outlawing of some far right political parties is no longer an effective strategy. Moreover, contrary to the to the declines of parties and trade off theses , it is argued that, far right parties and the uncivil society are in joint operation to advance similar goals and thus presents the double threat operating right from parliament and within its environs. The changing nature of the political process By 1850, virtually no county in Europe knew the basics of a political party apart from a few small groups of elite parties. In this regard, new types of political parties were majorly linked to the social and economic changes. These changes promoted democratization and indeed value the whole idea of having a popular representations (Lawson, 1988). Following that, European parliaments metarmorphorsized into systems open to a new type of party, more specifically, the mass party which was characterized by mass membership. Consequently, the idea of mass representations of the interests of people changed the perceptions concerning the role of political parties, the polity, and the society. This led to the extinction of the same elite parties within the 19th century. As such the mass party served as the primary link between the state and the society. However, after World War II the relevance of the mass party significantly declined. According to Mikenberg, (2000), most of the European parties transformed themselves from the catch all model to a single party organization. Close to 25 years later, this system transformed itself into what can be termed as a cartel system. It should be noted that, through the process of transformation a D-link was created between them and the society, while clinging more on the state. According to Kornhauser, (1959), the transformations that occurred during the period were revealed in the volatility amongst parties which even shows no signs of abating until today. Additionally, decomposition of parties has increased considerably, the decline of group memberships within parties and the reduction in partisan involvement were all indications for the enduring ties between the established parties and the electorate are slowly fading away. This has paved way for the emergence of new parties to fill the void created by the diminishing parties. Thus, it is clearly indicated that the evolution of new modes of political participation cannot be solely related to the structural transformations. As Inglehart, (1987) explains, the silent revolution comprises of pot material factors which have shaped citizens attitudes and in the west especially in Europe. He further says that a post material set of values, emphasizes on participation, freedom, as well as self realization. Such values have led to the rise of new political alignments and movements namely, the social movements and Green parties. Duverger, (1954) was first to indicate that change of values may not only produce Libertarian manifestations, but also authoritarian ones. Ignazi, (1992) further develops the point in his silent encounter publication, which explains the reemergence of the right wing parties in the 1980s. Unlike other political scholars who focus on only focus on political parties we content that extreme right wing parties are not the only challenges facing democracy. Arguably, political systems are widespread and indeed they may be a normal pathological condition of any given industrial society. It should be noted that, political extremism presents itself in many forms, for instance, intolerances against women, homosexuals and immigrants, ultra nationalism, ethnocentrism, fundamental religious beliefs and anti democratic prejudice (Booth and Bayer,1988). However, some conditions must exist for completion of the political mobilization. Such conditions are the vehicles linking the state and the society. Having that in mind, the last two decades of the twentieth century have yielded favorable conditions permitting alliances between political parties which we refer t as uncivil society. The old enemies (political parties) In the early twentieth century extreme political party posed as one of the strongest contender’s democracy. This situation was linked to the appearances of the mass party as well as, its little counterpart, the devotee party (Eatewell, 2000). Devotees parties were majorly characterized by fascism and communism. In the 1920s and 1930s these parties thrived in a convenient structure of the political opportunity. After World War I, followed the economic depression majority of the European societies underwent through a crises that was majorly characterized by increased hostilities against the regimes in power. After World War II majority of the European nations far right parties were banned and hence denied the legitimacy as the primary linking agents between the state and the society. According to Betz, (1994), western Europe experienced and increased economic growth in the periods after the war , and it is only until the 1980s that when severe economic and political changes did the far right wing parties re-emerge. (Betz) explains that the major goal of the parties were to exploit the alienation and the fears that were felt by most of the Europeans. Eatewell, (2000) points it out that, emergence of the far right parties was as a result of changing structures of classes, emergence of post materialist agendas , globalizations as well as, the loss of trust in old ideologies and the disillusionment with politicians and politics in general. Putman, (1993) claims that, the civil society can also have a destructive side, in his study he established that, the fascist movement in Italy initially originated from the civil world. Berman, (1997) further claims that, the civil society in German led to the fall of the Weimar republic. It has been argued that mass politics in a democratic setting is antidemocratic since it contrives the fundamentals of constitutionalism. In summary, both the civil society and the uncivil society cannot be separated. Thus it is imperative to mention that the violence cannot only emerge from the uncivil society, but also the civil society tends to generate similar antithesis. In conclusion, this paper has highlighted the three objectives, which were exploring how changes took place in the European politics, which were heavily affected by the far right wing activities. Secondly, the paper has explored the boundaries of the within the European political systems and lastly whether the new regimes have completely replaced old regimes or they have forged cooperation’s. In recent years, the changing role of the party institution has had a significant impact on the far right wing parties (Putman, 1993). As noted it is only until the 1980s that new wave far right parties emerged. Like their counterparts, the new parties can be regarded as cartels which enjoy poor links with the society. The emergence of new forms of governments not only the growth of the far right camps but also plays a role in their expansion. Generally, uncivil society comprises of well established individuals and groups which have the full support of the current politicians and in some extent they have forged alliances (Duverger, 1954). Notably, the uncivil society is geared toward subverting liberal democracy through their old fashioned political movements. They hope to govern behind the scenes, influencing all the decisions made at national level. Indeed, such strategies are directed at introducing crime and violence. However, social movements are closer to the people as opposed to the political parties. Some grass toot activities carried out to the far right agenda reveals the intolerances as well the hatred in the society. Although political party has changed in Europe, the role of the party as an organization still remains and in fact these is presented in far rightwing ideologies. The idea that cartel parties have a thin organizational structure doesn’t imply that they are unable to establish troops and militia to storm the streets. In this regard, the uncivil societies fill the gap by aiding the cartels to survive and push on with their agenda. Mean while, uncivil society creates various kinds of threats outside the environs of parliament (Berman, 1997). Lastly, while the old agents of extremism attacked democracy in a direct manner, the new agents of extremism seem to launch their attacks in an indirect way. Their aim is to exploit the increasing animosity against the core pillars of liberal democracy. Then, they strive to mobiles the adherents against the legal system, social policies, different groups of people as well as, other inhabitants through violence References Berman, S. 1997. Civil society and the Collapse of the Weimar Republic. Journal of World politics, 49(3), 401-429. Betz, H. 1994. Radical Right wing Populism in Western Europe. New York: St Martin’s Press. Booth, A. J., and Bayer, P. 1988. Civil society, political capital, and democratization of Central America. Journal of politics, 60(3), 782-2 Eatwell, R. 2000. The Rebirth of the Extreme right in Western Europe. Journal of parliamentary affairs, 53(3), 407-425 Duverger, M. 1954. Political parties. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Ignazi, P. 1992. The silent counter revolutions: Hypothes on the emergence of the extreme right wing parties in Europe. European journal of political research. 22(1), 3. Inglehart, R. 1987. Value change in the industrial society. Journal of American political science review, 81(4), 1289-303. Katz, S. R. and Mair, P. 1995.Changing models of party organization and party democracy. Journal of party politics, 1(1), 5-28. Kornhauser, W. (1959). The politics of mass society. New York: The Free Press of Glencoe. Lawson, K. 1988. When linkage Fails: Emerging alternative organizations. Princeton: Princeton university press. Mikenberg, M. 2000. The renewal of the Radical Right: Between modernity and Anti-modernity. Journal of the government and the opposition, 35(5), 175 Putman, R. 1993. Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton press. Read More