Political Extremism in Europe

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

The last few years have witnessed a rise of economic, social and political unrest in Europe. The Great Recession and its aftermath have fuelled the resurgence of extremist movements on the left and the right of the political spectrum. Left-wing and right-wing extremist parties have been able to send representatives to the European parliament after the May 2014 European elections. Moreover, several member states of the European Union are facing a very serious challenge to their territorial integrity in the form of widely supported secessionist movements. Common to all is their populism, i.e. a belief that there is a gap between the common people and the political elite that they can bridge by representing the ‘will of the people’ against the unaccountable politicians. COURSE OBJECTIVES: ? To provide students with an understanding of extremist and radical politics in Europe. ? To introduce students to the basic premises and core concepts of extremist and radical ideologies and the differences between them. ? To familiarize students with important variations in the way political extremism and radicalism is reflected in different countries and historical periods. ? To expose students to current research on the effects of political extremism and radicalism on the stability of democracies and on the ways democracies react to political extremism and radicalism. ? To sharpen students’ analytical skills of information gather, conceptual definition and systematic organization and presentation of ideas both in writing and orally. ? To provide students with the necessary tools to exercise a critical understanding of current affairs in contemporary Europe.