Yesterday, during a
regular, televised session of the national assembly, a Member of the
Hungarian Parliament demanded
that the Government „lists Jews in Hungary, because they pose a
threat to the country's national security due to their allegiance to
the State of Israel.” In his response, an Undersecretary of State
for Foreign Affairs said that he does not understand the question.
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| Clear message (Photo: AP) |
Nothing else
happened. The next day, a public outcry followed – and expected to
die down in a few days. The very same happened, when another
representative of the the same far-right party raised a blood libel
against the Hungarian Jewry in the Spring, 2012. This was just another
day in the Hungarian Parliament.
At the same time,
such 'lists' have been in
existence for years. Compiled and
regularly updated by organized domestic
extremist groups, they are
readily available to anyone on the internet. (We know as we ourselves
are 'listed'.)
The point is: right
contrary to some fashionable narratives, the same goes on in many
other European countries. 'Targets' do change, if not the Jews, then
immigrants, Muslims or the Roma are presented as „the threat' - in
Greece, in France, in the Netherlands and elsewhere.
Politics of
Extremism
The
political tactics rest on the theory of securitization,
i. e. that extremist organizations not simply provide scapegoats for
societies, but also reify and redefine (mostly) socio-economic issues
as security problems. They produce 'enemies' that shall be fought now
to 'defend' ourselves'. In the Institute's latest study, we provide
several examples
how this tactic is applied – in Greece, in the UK or in Hungary.
It might seem ridiculous to try to portray the most marginalized
communities of Europe (esp. immigrants or the Roma) as existential
threats to our all-powerful states – except for the fact that it
works.
It can work via the 'transmission-belt' effect, when an extremist
group challenges a far-right/left party sitting in a national
parliament 'to deliver on its promises' and raise the 'real issues'
and, in turn, the given far-right/left party challenges the center
parties in government. Sometimes governments do 'deliver', as we have written in our study: „A couple
of months after Golden Dawn got into parliament and the mainstream
political parties who govern the country realized the rapidly growing
popularity of GD and its message, they commenced a huge nationwide
crackdown on illegal immigrants and started repatriating them.”
But
it can also work through grooming Anders Breivik-type lone wolves or
Hungarian Roma serial-killer-type small cells, both reaching a point
in the process of radicalization when they decide to take matters
into their own hands. Since
the end of the Cold War, an app. 500 European citizens were killed in
major
extremism-related incidents
– one third of them died in the past two years.
The problem
Still, the problem is not extremism itself, but the state of denial
most European countries – and their political elites – share.
Extremist organizations are mostly weak with marginal resources.
Europe could use its own or others solutions to confront the
phenomenon – just as it did previously (e.g. far-left extremism in
Italy and Germany on the fringes of the '68 movements). But most
European decision-makers seem to hold course and avoid confronting
extremism politically.
Extremist groups may never ignite a war. Strong governments are many
times able to ignore their challenges. Even the political fallout of
serial-killers' attacks can be contained. Still, the above ignorance
overlooks the fact that extremism does undermine good governance in
many fields. 'Roma inclusion' in light of the Roma community
re-defined as a 'threat'? 'Multi-cultural societies' in which Jews
shall be listed as „national security risk”? Involvement of
immigrants who might „destroy our identity”?
It is time to look for answers.
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