Tens of thousands of anti-immigration protesters are expected to march through London on Saturday under the banner 'Unite the Kingdom', led by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson. The activist, often described as far-right, rejects the label, positioning himself as a defender of free speech and a patriot.
Robinson's supporters carry signs reading 'We're not far right, just right'. However, academics and organizations like HOPE not hate, which track far-right movements, argue otherwise. They say the term 'far right' lacks precise definition, and its ambiguity is exploited by figures like Robinson.
The modern use of 'far right' traces back to the 1984 European elections in France, when Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front (FN) won nearly 11% of the vote and 10 seats. French newspapers called it a 'political earthquake'. The FN fused anti-immigrant nationalism with anti-establishment fury.
Similar breakthroughs followed in Austria (Jörg Haider's Freedom Party), Belgium (Vlaams Blok), and elsewhere. Today, far-right parties like Italy's Brothers of Italy and the Sweden Democrats are in government or supporting coalitions, shaping debates on migration, identity, and sovereignty.
Political scientist Cas Mudde defines the far right by three criteria: nativism (preference for the 'native' group), populism (the pure people vs. corrupt elite), and authoritarianism (order and strong leadership). Some scholars prefer 'nationalism' over nativism.
The far right is divided into two subgroups: 'radical far right', which criticizes democracy but does not reject it, and 'extreme far right', which outright rejects democratic order. Examples include France's National Rally (radical) and Greece's now-defunct Golden Dawn (extreme).
Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) is mostly considered radical, but its state branches in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt are classified as extremist by domestic intelligence. In the 2024 European elections, far-right parties made significant gains across several EU countries.
Source: www.aljazeera.com