The Dark Side of European Integration - Explorations of the Far Right by Alina Polyakova Paperback

Book Synopsis

Across Europe, radical right-wing parties are winning increasing electoral support. The Dark Side of European Integration argues that this rising nationalism and the mobilization of the radical right are the consequences of European economic integration. The European economic project has produced a cultural backlash in the form of nationalist radical right ideologies. This assessment relies on a detailed analysis of the electoral rise of radical right parties in Western and Eastern Europe. Contrary to popular belief, economic performance and immigration rates are not the only factors that determine the far right's success. There are other political and social factors that explain why in post-socialist Eastern European countries such parties had historically been weaker than their potential, which they have now started to fulfill increasingly. Using in-depth interviews with radical right activists in Ukraine, Alina Polyakova also explores how radical right mobilization works on the ground through social networks, allowing new insights into how social movements and political parties interact.

Review Quotes

Polyakova's sophisticated exploration of why and how ultra-nationalists succeed challenges widely held assumptions about the determinants of right-wing electoral support and individual radicalization. Her study is unusual in comparing the European far right beyond the borders of the EU and in including field research results from Western Ukrainian provinces. This succinct investigation should find wide attention among researchers of political extremism and will help us better understand the reasons for the current surge of xenophobia across Europe.--Andreas Umland, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy

About the Author

Alina Polyakova is Associate Director of the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.