Antisemitism Worldwide 2000/1

The Radical Right in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989. Edited by Sabrina P. Ramet. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999, 383 pp. The Revival of Right-Wing Extremism in the Nineties. Edited by Peter H. Merkl and Leonard Weinberg. London: Frank Cass, 1997, 289 pp.

Though differing in approach and theoretical discussion, both books are valuable contributions to the understanding of the extreme right. The standard problems faced by researchers when embarking on studies of the extreme right are present in both volumes, namely, those of definition and conceptual framework.

In The Radical Right in Central and Eastern Europe, editor Sabrina P. Ramet, one of the most prolific authors on Eastern Europe in general, has written the first chapter on “Defining the Radical Right.” Her main assertion is that the radical right is characterized by “organized intolerance” of “the Other.” In a sweeping tour d’horizon, Ramet outlines the characteristics of the extreme right in Central and Eastern Europe, concluding that it is not only hostile to the democratic process, but is populist, nationalist and obsessed by conspiracy theories. According to Ramet, “organized intolerance” in the post-communist states is divided into five sub-groups: ultra-nationalist, fascist or crypto-fascist, clerical, ultra-conservative and radical populist (pp. 24–5). Groups that fit into one of these categories, she claims, can be regarded as belonging to the far right. However, her attempt to label groups is risky, since the political map of the area is dynamic, and parties frequently redefine themselves. Thus, her placement of the Hungarian Independent Smallholders and Civic Party, led by Jozsef Torgyan, in the “radical populist” category is problematic because the party has toned down its extremist rhetoric since it joined the coalition government after the 1998 election (see Hungary). In his study on Hungary, written before that election, Hungarian historian Laszlo Karsai, referring to this party, writes that “one of the important political functions of the radical right is that it enables the slightly more moderate right to appear as a sober force, able to govern.” In light of the aforesaid, it might well be asked whether this party should be classified as part of the “radical right,” which as implied by Karsai, is divided between those worthy of governing and those who are not.

The country-by-country analysis in Ramet’s book enables the various authors to examine more closely the troubled waters of the post-communist era. All chapters include in their title the words “the radical right.” Most present an analysis and narrative of post-communist politics and societies, but lack a conceptual framework. The main exception is Michael Shafir’s chapter, “The Mind of Romania’s Radical Right,” which uses the model he developed in several studies, distinguishing between parties of “radical continuity” and those of “radical return.” The “radical return” parties look to the values associated with the interwar years, emulating figures such as Tiso, Antonescu, Pavelic, Szalasi and Codreanu; the “radical continuity” ones take their “bearings from the communist legacy itself” (p. 213).

Shafir’s study, which is the soundest, points out that conspiracy theories involving the Jews are central to the ideologies of many radical right parties in East and Central European states. His discussion of the Greater Romania Party is especially important since it became the second largest party after the 2000 general elections.

Discussion of ethnic hatred, especially antisemitism, figures in all chapters in various forms. In his chapter on Poland, David Ost states that “disliking Jews serves little political purpose today,” which explains the failure of political parties that have targeted Jews. Although he refers to the debates in Poland on the past and present role of antisemitism in Polish society and to antisemitic statements by Church leaders such as Father Jankowski from Gdansk, these are not presented in the context of the “radical right,” since the people concerned do not belong to extremist organizations.

The chapter on Hungary by Laszlo Karsai examines in depth post-communist antisemitism, but some of his conclusions seem rather too optimistic. Karsai writes that “what sets apart Istvan Csurka and his tiny little Hungarian Justice and Life Party from the ‘real’ extreme right is that they rarely, if ever, use abusive language about Jews in the public [sic].” Since Csurka’s party entered parliament, the center-right coalition has not clearly denounced Csurka’ line, and more importantly, Csurka’s weekly Magyar Forum has become a mouthpiece for vehement attacks on a variety of issues related to conspiracy theories, Jewish power, Jewish financial interests and the role of Jewish communists. In a typical article published on 14 December 2000, Magyar Forum wrote of “Satan’s agents,” who “live here in Hungary, speak Hungarian but hate us. Money is their God… The look in their eyes, the pale skin, sweaty palms, cold feet, twisted smile betrays them. They can be found all over the world.”

Frank Cibulka’s study of Slovakia discusses the Tiso cult and its role among the various formations of the radical right. Anti-Roma, anti-Hungarian and antisemitic groups have played a major role in the difficult transition of the Slovak Republic to the post-communist era, especially in the Meciar years when the Slovak National Party (belonging to the “radical return” category, according to Shafir’s model), was in the government coalition. Cibulka analyzes the anti-minority stance of extremist formations, but underplays the role of xenophobic discourse in securing their legitimacy.

Ivan Grdesic’s study on Croatia is useful in understanding patterns of continuity and change in Croat nationalism and radical right activity. The attempts to deny the fascist character of the wartime Croat state and the rehabilitation of persons and ideas linked to the Ustasha were evident during the Tudjman years.

Two chapters are devoted to Russia and Ukraine. Both present a solid overview of Pamyat and of Zhirinovskii’s Liberal Democratic Party, as well as other radical groups that emerged in both states. In contrast to the studies on Romania and Hungary, both chapters are based more on an analysis of election performance and less on the nature of the far right-wing discourse.

The various chapters also focus on the personal impact of the area’s post-communist leaders, such as Milosevic, Tudjman and Meciar, who manipulated extremist views. All three were in power when the book was published. As the analyses of the political situation were made at the time of their writing, the effect of changes could not have been taken into consideration. Thus, it might be asked what would happen to Serbian, Croat and Slovak extremism when those fueling ethno-centrist feelings were removed from power by one means or another.

Roger Griffin’s excellent “Afterword” sums up the various arguments from the studies, and offers useful thoughts, for example on the chapters “Taxing Taxonomy” and “Ethnocracy - The Fascism of the Postwar Era?”

The Revival of Right-Wing Extremism in the Nineties has a much broader geographical focus, including also countries such as the United States and South Africa. The chapters on Western Europe and Eastern Europe provide the reader with a broad comparative framework. In the first two chapters, Peter H. Merkl and Piero Ignazi present some reflections on the revival of the radical right in Europe, and a survey of the extreme right in Europe, respectively. While both studies argue that postwar far right extremism is unlike interwar right extremism, Michael Minkenberg, in “The New Right in France and Germany. Nouvelle Droite, Neue Rechte, and the New Radical Parties,” contends that the difference is not as great as one might think. He speaks of the prospects of Weimarization of contemporary European politics. According to Peter Merkl in the Introduction, the specter of “Weimarization” haunts Russia more than other countries of Europe; however, comparisons between Russia andWestern Europe are in some respects an “overkill” of the subject. Vera Tolz, too, in her examination of Russia, rejects the comparison with Weimar (p. 197) as “superficial… with striking similarities notwithstanding.”

Fortunately, the volume does not adhere to a single conceptual approach to and definition of right-wing extremism in the 1990s, since a wide spectrum of issues and areas are involved. However, a conceptual framework may be found in some chapters, such as Thomas S. Szayna’s study on post-communist Central Europe. The author defines the extreme right as “political movements characterized by suspect allegiance or downright rejection of pluralism and democratic institutions, combined with a proclivity towards authoritarian modes of rule” (p. 113). The author does not underestimate the role of antisemitism in the extremists’ discourse; for example, when discussing Slovakia he writes of “deep anti-Semitism, both religious and ethnic-based [which] pervades the views of the Slovak extreme right” (p. 129).

Problems of definition continue to haunt this volume as well. According to Szayna, Csurka has “professed clearly extreme nationalist views that bordered on neo-fascist” (p. 139). In contrast to Laszlo Karsai’s study mentioned above, the author does not focus on the antisemitism of the extreme right. but on the extremists’ political manipulation of anti-Roma and anti-Hungarian attitudes, as well as other ethnic issues, in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

The study on Romania by Henry F. Carey uses Michael Shafir’s model of the “radical return” and “radical continuity” to distinguish between the various movements and their points of reference. Carey describes the early years of the Antonescu cult in Romania and the vitriolic antisemitic language used by the Greater Romania Party, both of which continue in 2001 (see Romania).

Most of the chapters refer to the conspiracy theories that abound, especially in post-communist states such as Russia, where “ideologists of the right have to promote fantastic CIA and Judeo-Masonic plots” (Vera Tolz, p. 197). Such language is central to the discourse of Csurka’s Hungarian Justice and Life Party and to that of Romanian extremists, especially the Greater Romania Party.

Leonard Weinberg’s “The American Right in Comparative Perspective” offers some very interesting and challenging views on the emergence of the radical right in the US, using sources up to 1993. His conclusion is that “if a Euro-American radical right has not emerged as yet, one certainly appears to be on the horizon” (p. 251). His data on race crimes and hate violence indicated a rising trend up to 1993.

Both books provide valuable information and ideas on the “radical right” and “right-wing extremism.” As in most volumes authored by several writers, there are marked differences between the level of studies and the conceptual frameworks used. The comparative approach in the volume edited by Merkl and Weinberg is the stronger of the two, both in terms of analogies between historical periods and between regions and states.