A whole ecosystem has grown up around the radical right as it has surged in visibility this century. The radical right can lay claim to its own stable of media personalities and political superstars, not to mention the social media platforms and political parties that cater to them. Its growth has been powered, in part, by some of the same social institutions that characterize and support mainstream culture: the political system itself, where many radical right parties attempt participation and in many countries field candidates; and the culture of social media, where followers can number in the millions. At times the radical right can rival mainstream actors in popularity and at times can even be indistinguishable from it.
As the radical right has captured media attention, it has likewise provoked heated opposition. Our report from the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right (CARR), entitled “Faces” of the Radical Right and now freely available shows just how far the radical right has expanded in reach and transnational influence in advancing political parties, organisations, and ideologues. The report makes use of photographs, graphs, and charts as it seeks to give order to what is by its nature a disordered subject.
The CARR report takes up both the racist, reformist radical right and the revolutionary, fascist extreme right while acknowledging that one shades into the other, and that some groups stand astride the very line that separates them. It shows that radical right groups are nativist and xenophobic and favour cultural and ethnic homogeneity. Their targets are those perceived to have contributed to national and political decline: corrupt or liberal elites, as well as Muslims and other immigrants or ethnic and religious minorities. Radical right parties typically compete in elections and seek to work within the existing constitutional structure of a country.
