History of Right-wing Radicalism in the U.S. and Europe
French Revolution: Starting in the late 18th century, the French Revolution saw the rise of several new political ideologies. Among them was a modern sense of Nationalism. With the conclusion of the revolution at the turn of the century France was headed by military dictator Napoleon Bonaparte and would soon be launched into several wars involving all of Europe. Alien and Sedition Acts: The creation of the two American political parties (Federalists and Democratic-Republicans) in the 1790's set the stage for the passage of the Alien and Sedition acts. These acts, passed by John Adams and the Federalists, were intended to limit immigration and restrict voting rights to immigrants. The acts were driven partially by a fear of foreigners, a universal factor in why far-right nationalist parties have succeeded throughout history. Origins of the Ku Klux Klan: After the American Civil war a period of reconstruction began. Remnants of the Southern Army, still bitter about the end of slavery, founded the Ku Klux Klan. The organization became famous for their terror tactics used to keep blacks and other minorities, such as Jews, from expressing their views via the ballot. Unification of the German State: The official Unification of Germany by the treaty of Versailles helped set the stage for the First World War as well as the second. It also served as the end of the first of three wars Germany would have with France. WWI and the treaty of Versailles: The result of the Great War meant Germany was left in shambles. The armistice had forced Germany to concede on many fronts. The combined loses of territory and money set the stage for extremism in the decades to come. Italy and Japan, members of the allied side during the war, gained very little as result of the treaty which later proved to play a integral role in the rise of fascist governments in each of these nations. The age of Fascism: Europe in the 1920's and 30's saw the rise of right-wing fascist governments in Italy, Germany and Spain. These governments took power by exploiting poor economic conditions in each country and blaming the economic hardships on a specific group of people. In Germanys case the Jews. These governments were however extremely successful in mobilizing the populous, as shown by the architectural prowess of the 1936 Olympics. The peak of fascism, however, was in 1941, when Germany and Italy controlled almost all of mainland Europe and North Africa. While, in the East, the militaristic fascist regime of Hirohito controlled most of the Pacific ocean and large segments of Asia. The Post-war far right: After the conclusion of the Second World War, far right nationalistic sentiment was on the decline across all of Europe (with the exception of Spain). But on the world stage right wing governments continued to pop up. These governments were often supported by the west in the post war era because of their opposition to communism. examples include the Contras in Nicaragua, South Korea, and the Republic of China. With the fall of the USSR in 1991 much of the US/western support for these authoritarian regimes shored up. Overall, populism was down in the 20 years after the fall of the Soviet Union. But, this changed with the mass influx of muslim refugees to Europe because of Arab spring conflicts. |