How Worried Should We Be About the Threat of the Far-Right?
The far-right has long been a threat to western democracies, and today they may be the most dangerous that we face – cited by intelligence agencies as an even greater threat than an increasingly aggressive Russian military or Islamic extremism. Far-right groups are beginning to test the strength of democracy through a range of strategies – most visibly through direct action as seen in the US with the invasion of the Capitol, and recently in both the plot to overthrow the German parliament and invasion of Brazil’s government.
On the 6th of January 2021, the balance of democracy in the United States ended up laying in the hands of one man: Mike Pence, the Vice President. By refusing to stop the certification of Joe Biden, the plot to topple democracy failed – but how close around 2,000 rioters came to overturning an election set a worrying precedent. Now increasingly we see far-right leaders testing the waters of violence as a means to stay in power. In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro’s refusal to recognise defeat and claims of election fraud led quickly to widespread violence from supporters, and even developed into a similar invasion of Brazil’s democratic institutions. Perhaps even more dangerously, these riots in Brazil saw high ranking members of the army, potentially including the General of the Brazilian army, assist in the insurrection. Although this is not a new issue – the ‘Unite the Right’ rally having led to 3 deaths and injuring 49 in Charlottesville, 2017 – the growth of attempts to violently overthrow democracy in developed and developing nations certainly is a worrying precedent. On the 7th of December, the ‘Reichsbürger’ plot to overthrow the German parliament was stopped in the largest ever series of raids in Germany against right-wing extremists. Similar to both aforementioned riots, this plot had connections to those who had served in the German Parliament, but are these series of extremist plots connected, and how much danger do they pose?
While these extreme right-wing groups are often disconnected rather than one united front, their greatest threat comes as a result of the spread of their shared ideas, which has been greatly enhanced by an online presence. In Brazil, action is already being taken to address the dangerous flow of extremist ideas that would have played a central role in indoctrinating those at the insurrection, but the failure to adequately tackle English-language groups and individuals online leaves countries like the US open to further threat of action. Already we have seen the impact of Donald Trump’s Twitter presence, yet his ban has been lifted from both Twitter and Meta-owned websites. Despite the claims that deplatforming represents an attack on free speech, a result of inaction has allowed numerous attempts to topple democracy in recent years. Governments must follow Brazil in tackling the issue of online extremist presence if it is to prevent further attempts at insurrection.
Other than through violent fringe groups, far-right ideas are increasingly entering mainstream political debate in western nations. In some countries through designated parties: AfD in Germany (one politician being a supporter of the aforementioned Reichsbürger plot), Vox in Spain and the French National Rally all adopting extremist ideas, while in countries like Britain, the US and Australia, these ideas have infiltrated via formerly more moderate conservative parties.
Although Trump had been elected by a smaller group of voters than his competitor, Hillary Clinton, it was from his position in government itself that allowed the threat of extremism to be posed. In the recent January 6th report Benny Thompson stated that “Donald Trump summoned that mob to Washington, DC. Afterward, he sent them to the Capitol to try to prevent my colleagues and me from doing our Constitutional duty to certify the election. They put our very democracy to the test.” But the line between the moderate and extreme right has become increasingly blurred. Boris Johnson, who when elected had been described as a moderate ‘One Nation Conservative,’ later fuelled conspiracy theories against Keir Starmer – resulting in a mob ambush and clashes with police. From such powerful positions, far-right ideology has infiltrated mainstream political debate – from the Rwanda plan in the UK being implemented under Boris Johnson to Trump-appointed judges tearing down Roe v Wade abortion protections, it is clear that while violent fringe movements so far have had more limited success, extreme ideology has successfully begun to infiltrate the mainstream.
Therefore, while governments must take a strong stance against extremist ideas spreading online through legislation, so too does responsibility fall on voters to reject these ideas at the ballot box, and for media and politicians to hold each other to account. Hateful groups and ideas have been able to thrive in a culture of political apathy, and only by the proper rejection and opposition of these will political debate see improvement.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
