Issue 2, 2007   

Civil Society in Brussels. More than a fig leaf excuse?

Bernd Wagner, New right-wing extremism and cultural subversion as an instrument, FJ NSB 4/2008, pp 6-16.

Modern right-wing extremism endangers the democratic state not in the short run but undermines as a cultural and social movement western democracy in the long run. There are many facets of rightist engagement and includes cultural patterns of shaping identity as well as discursive attacks on the weaknesses of the democratic culture and the use of violence. The democratic counterpart is not well prepared to ward off these attacks continuesly. A new measurement and formation of democratic structures is necessary.

Simon Teune: Rightist Civil Society - contradictio in adiecto? FJ NSB 4/2008, pp 17-22.

Right wing activists in Germany get more and more active in community service. In some regions this engagement even succeeds in shaping local communities. Does it make sense, then, to understand this development as an emerging ‘rightist civil society’? A sectoral understanding of civil society does allow this notion rather than conceptions inspired by theory of action. However, the concept of a rightist civil society is first and foremost of a heuristic value. It points to the limits of civil society and the limits of a narrow understanding of the radical right. The analysis of right radicalism may not be limited to deviant organizations and scenes but has to include their interaction with other segments of society.

Dierk Borstel, Rightist civil society - zwischen Wunsch und Wirklichkeit, FJ NSB 4/2008, pp 23-28.

In theory civil society and right-wing extremism are as fire and water. The water of civil society purges the fire of right-wing extremism, so proclaimed by the federal programs against right-wing extremism. But the praxis is different. Since years the extremists use instruments of civil society an act within the sphere of civil society. This method is most succsessful as it also means an advantage to the democratic protagonists referring to the discursive struggle. Often the praxis fails due to own incompetence but there are efforts who focus to a rightist civil society, which the democratic counterpart has to face.

Gudrun Heinrich, NPD as a movement, FJ NSB 4/2008, pp 29-38.

It is disputed, if right-wing extremism is a social movement. An important indicator is the linking-up of protagonists supporting the movement. The article analyzes the relation between NPD and the right-wing networks concerning deals, cooperatiuons and self-concept. There is no clear result, there are arguments to classify them as movements as well as arguments against.

Benno Hafeneger/Rainer Becker: The Extreme Right as an Everyday Phenomenon in Rural Hesse, FJ NSB 4/2008, pp. 39-44.

Rural areas provide specific opportunities for the establishment of right wing extremists. Spatial limitation and intimacy in social relations tend to result in the notion that extremists are part of the community and that their everyday activism is not considered as problematic. The example of the German Bundesland Hesse shows that it is primarily long-established right wing activists who are tolerated in their community. By contrast, rural communities are likely to resist right extremism if it is perceived as an external problem. Strategies aimed at countering a rightist daily routine are doomed to fail if they do not acknowledge the social particularities of the rural space.

Benjamin Fischer/Tatjana Volkmann, Rightist extrmists engaging in the local sphere: Ueckermünde, FJ NSB 4/2008, pp 45-51.

Ueckermünde was a stronghold of the NPD in the last election to the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, though party structures are weak. This success can be explained by the NPD’s good infrastructure within civil society. Citizen movements and offers for young people, sustained by rightist extremists let them appear as engaged local citizens. This case study shows the successful cooperation between rightist civil society and the NPD as a regional movement party.

Andreas Umland: Right Wing Activism beyond Parties. Reflections on pre-War Germany from a Russian Studies Perspective, FJ NSB 4/2008, pp 63-67.

Research in contemporary right wing extremism in Russia may be inspired by a look at civil society in the Weimar Republic. In this period of German history anti-Semitic, racist and chauvinist attitudes were promoted by associations while initially right extremist parties did not meet with electoral success. A focus on party activities in research targeting Russian right extremism leaves out the engagement in civil society. However, activism beyond parties is of vital importance for the future development of Russian Nationalism.