Browse Hierarchy POL340: The Global History and Politics of the Far Right

Far right forms of politics have emerged as a significant political current in recent years - be it the dominance of Viktor Orban's Fidesz party in Hungary to the election successes of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in India. Much of the popular commentary on these developments has tended to ignore the longer-term presence and historical significance of this form of politics or reduce any historical reference to inter-war fascism. However, the far right has a longer historical pedigree - beyond that of (European) historical fascism - and can be seen to reflect a significant subaltern, if reactionary, ideo-political current in popular, mass and democratic forms of politics across a range of different if connected geopolitical locales from the late nineteenth century onwards. This module examines how and why a distinct far right and 'anti-Conservative' form of politics emerged and, in particular, how and why the changing character of international relations - as revealed in the structures of geopolitics and capitalist world economy - have shaped the evolving ideo-political character of the far right. The module will do this through an examination of several historical and contemporary case studies encompassing different expressions of the far right north/south and east/west.