The European crisis of politics: Ethnoreligious pluralism and the rise of radical populism and far-right in Europe

Abstract

It is not highly contentious to claim that the 2008 global economic crisis may be also understood as a failure of the welfare state in European countries. The rise of economic inequalities in Europe, as a major sequel of the 2008 economic crisis and the increase of migrant flows, has fostered and become a breeding ground for racial, religious, or ideological hatred in the western world. However, compared to previous periods in recent history when tensions arose, citizens can now channel their feelings, thoughts, and political ideals through the institutions of the state’s basic structure. Thus, citizens are having a say by channelling their claims through democratic means and different forms of political participation. One relevant articulation has been new expressions of radical populism, nativism, and far-right ideologies which have burst into the public sphere, at the local, regional, and European levels. This combination has turned the economic and refugee crisis into what is mainly a crisis of European politics.