Putin may fall OPINION: We can be pretty sure that the likelihood of both a coup and a revolution in Russia is significantly higher today than it was a couple of months ago.
Dictators are doing it for themselves - but has Putin taken it too far this time? The political science is clear: Putin is a dictator. The same science is also clear on this: a financial crisis is dangerous for a dictatorship.
The Polish Independence March 2021 – nationalized nationalism The Independence March passed through Warsaw once again. This time, no flat was burnt, no shops were vandalized, no squat or embassy attacked, and no freshly planted trees were torn out. According to Przemyslaw Witkowski, this is a worrying development, as it signals that nationalists are gaining political power in Poland and beyond.
Political myths and the making of fascism In a recently published book, Nathaniël Kunkeler compares the political cultures of the Swedish National Socialist Workers’ Party (Nationalsocialistiska Arbetarepartiet, NSAP) and the Dutch National Socialist Movement (Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging, NSB). Central to the analysis is the construction of political myths: myth-making or mythopoeia of the largest fascist parties in these countries, neither of which ever came close to seizing power in the 1930s.
An effective ban on foreign fighting? Wider implications of the Czech policy towards foreign (terrorist) fighters “Foreign terrorist fighters” (FTFs) are commonly understood as being synonymous with jihadists. But what if we were to be faced with a foreign terrorist fighter, who is not a jihadi and is hardly ideologically motivated at all? C-REX Postdoctoral Fellow Kacper Rekawek discusses the recent conviction of three Czech foreign fighters involved in the conflict in Ukraine, who fall into that category. Their cases differ substantially from their jihadi counterparts and offer a fascinating insight into how different Western states approach the issue of their citizens or inhabitants deploying to foreign wars.
Stable trends in unstable times: Right-wing terrorism and violence in Western Europe in 2020 Right-wing terrorism and violence in Western Europe in 2020 was not significantly influenced by COVID-19 nor by the activism of the Black Lives Matter movement. Instead, the RTV report recently published by C-REX shows that 2020 represents a continuation of previous trends.
The Progress Party’s anti-Islam hinterland The Progress Party leader Sylvi Listhaug’s use of the conspiratorial term ‘sneaky Islamization’ is a prime example of right-wing populist rhetoric.
American politicians use the Nordic region as both a role model and a scare tactic Different groups use the Nordic countries for different rhetorical purposes, one political scientist observes.
Does immigration lead to less trust in a society? People in Norway and Sweden have a great deal of trust in each other. Swedish researchers have now looked to see if this trust is dropping in areas where many people of different ethnic backgrounds live.
Far right groups in Norway instigate more street provocation than before New groups are adopting more radical measures.