On Extremism and Democracy in Europe

Never afraid to tell it like it is, Cas Mudde may be a born contrarian but he always knows what hes talking about. This collection exemplifies Mudde's trademark mix of scholarly expertise and take-no-prisoners commitment to making us all think twice before we take too much for granted. Genuinely a great read. Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University of London, UK A must-read for anyone interested in this riveting European political momentpopulism, freedom of speech, far-right, far-left, religion, Euroscepticism, and euro-crisis. Its all here: well written, provocative, and engaging. Always original and thought-provoking, Cas Mudde combines wonderful political savvy with unrivalled academic expertise. Catherine Fieschi, Director, Counterpoint, UK Cas Mudde is the leading public intellectual drawing attention to the challenges to liberal democracy and the European project represented by populist, Eurosceptic parties. Dismissing convenient, simplistic hype over this phenomenon and highlighting the contradictory responses of governments this book defines the issues likely to dominate European politics for years to come. Geoffrey Harris, European Parliament official (1976-2016) and author of The Dark Side of Europe. This collection distils the essential Mudde. His characteristically forthright dissection of key political trends includes a primer on populism that will be widely cited, but he also warns of the dangers of blaming populism for all the problems besetting liberal democracy in Europe today. Mudde's analysis of the damage done by mainstream parties and politicians in the name of combatting extremism should be essential reading for all Europeans worried about the future of democracy and the EU. Heather Grabbe, Director, Open Society European Policy Institute, Belgium Cas Mudde is one of the leading specialists of the populist radical right. He is also a man with strong moral and civic values. The pathological normalcy theory he exposes in this collection of his articles is a key to understanding the mounting challenge of the extreme right to liberal democracy. It is also well worth reading his criticism of "undemocratic liberalism", as the reason for the successes of Left-Wing populism. Jean-Yves Camus, Directeur de l'Observatoire des radicalits Politiques (ORAP), Paris Never afraid to tell it like it is, Cas Mudde may be a born contrarian but he always knows what hes talking about. This collection exemplifies Mudde's trademark mix of scholarly expertise and take-no-prisoners commitment to making us all think twice before we take too much for granted. Genuinely a great read. Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University of London, UK A must-read for anyone interested in this riveting European political momentpopulism, freedom of speech, far-right, far-left, religion, Euroscepticism, and euro-crisis. Its all here: well written, provocative, and engaging. Always original and thought-provoking, Cas Mudde combines wonderful political savvy with unrivalled academic expertise. Catherine Fieschi, Director, Counterpoint, UK Cas Mudde is the leading public intellectual drawing attention to the challenges to liberal democracy and the European project represented by populist, Eurosceptic parties. Dismissing convenient, simplistic hype over this phenomenon and highlighting the contradictory responses of governments this book defines the issues likely to dominate European politics for years to come. Geoffrey Harris, European Parliament official (1976-2016) and author of The Dark Side of Europe. This collection distils the essential Mudde. His characteristically forthright dissection of key political trends includes a primer on populism that will be widely cited, but he also warns of the dangers of blaming populism for all the problems besetting liberal democracy in Europe today. Mudde's analysis of the damage done by mainstream parties and pol

Cas Mudde is Associate Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia, USA, and Researcher in the Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX) at the University of Oslo, Norway.

Part I: The Far Right 1. The populist radical right: a pathological normalcy 2. Three decades of populist radical right parties in Western Europe: So what? 3. The myth of Weimar Europe 4. Putins Trojan Horses? 5 theses on Russia and the European far right 5. Local shocks: the far right in the 2014 European elections 6. Europe of Nations and Freedoms: Financial Success, Political Failure 7. Viktor Orbn and the difference between radical right parties and radical right politics Part II: Populism 8. Jean-Claude Jucker and the populist zeitgeist in European politics 9. The problem with populism 10. Populism and liberal democracy: is Greece the exception or the future of Europe? (interview with Antonis Galanopoulos) 11. Populism: a primer Part III: Euroscepticism 12. European integration: after the fall 13. The European elites politics of fear 14. What will the European elections bring the Western Balkans? 15. The 2014 European elections in numbers 16. Electoral winners and political losers in the right-wing Eurosceptic camp 17. The key lessons of Syrizas defeat? A different Europe requires both ideology and competence 18. Its time to end the Eurosceptic illusions 19. "Weimar Greece" and the future of Europe 20. Portugal faces a political crisis, but its the same one facing governments everywhere Part IV: Liberal Democracy 21. The intolerance of the tolerant 22. After the storms: time to go beyond the obvious responses 23. Norways democratic example 24. The dos and donts of banning political extremism 25. No, we are NOT all Charlie (and thats a problem) 26. What freedom of speech? Of foxes, chickens, and #JeSuisCharlie 27. As Europe looks fearfully outside, its liberal democracy is under attack from within 28. Epilogue: European democracy after Paris