More than 70 years after the defeat of Nazi Germany, ethno-nationalist and white supremacist movements in Europe continue to thrive. They include far-right political parties, neo-Nazi movements, and apolitical protest groups. Some groups openly espouse violent white supremacy, while others have propagated their radical stances under the guise of populism. Such populist groups claim that they are striving to protect average hardworking Europeans by preserving their livelihoods and heritages from economic and cultural threats posed by immigrants and ethnic minorities. Though not all of these groups directly link their ideologies to Nazism, their propaganda portrays immigrants and ethnic minorities in a similar manner to how Nazi propaganda portrayed Jews, blaming them for national economic troubles and depicting them as a serious threat to the broader national identity. In a June 2018 speech, German Chancellor Angela Merkel recognized that the majority of refugees are victims, and that “escape and expulsion are part of our German and European history.”* Nonetheless, several far-right political parties in Europe have infused anti-immigrant and particularly anti-Muslim xenophobia into their party platforms through the concept of ethno-nationalism––the idea that a nation should be composed of a single ethnicity. These parties postulate that hardworking European natives are suffering economic and cultural losses due to immigrants and ethnic minorities who want to replace national, religious, and cultural identities with foreign values. Ethno-nationalists also view multiculturalism as a code word for the destruction of the native national identity. For example, Hungary’s neo-fascist Jobbik political party rejects “the dead-end Western European multiculturalism” and has pledged to “defend our cultural identity developed over our history.”* Groups like Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) political party lament the influx of Muslim immigrants, which they claim weakens the German culture and quality of life. AfD has gone so far as to claim that Islam is a danger to Germany.*
These far-right political parties have therefore been able to unite ethno-nationalism with populism by propagating the notion that ethno-nationalism serves the average hardworking individual and the broader national identity. Their propaganda campaigns have allowed them to generate substantial popular support and make gains in domestic elections. The AfD came in third in Germany’s September 2017 parliamentary elections.* In March 2018’s Italian parliamentary elections, the far-right, anti-immigrant Lega Nord (“Northern League”) party succeeded in becoming the third largest party in Italy’s parliament. League leader Matteo Salvini served as Italy’s interior minister from June 2018 until August 2019. In that role, he refused a migrant aid ship permission to dock in Italy and called for a national census to address “the Roma question.”* Both parties also view the European Union as a harmful foreign influence that has undermined the sovereignty of their respective nations.* Salvini has even derided the euro as a “German currency” and a “crime against humanity.”* Salvini continues to serve in Italy’s parliament.
via counterextremism: European Ethno-Nationalist and White Supremacy Groups Executive Summary
