Věra Stojarová

Populist, Radical and Extremist Political Parties in Visegrad countries vis à vis the migration crisis. In the name of the people and the nation in Central Europe

Abstract The paper looks at the political party scene in Visegrad countries before and after the influx of refugees and compares how much the negative reactions were instrumentalised not only by the extremist and radical right parties but by the newly emerged populist formations as well as the well-established mainstream parties across the whole political spectra. Until the “migration crisis”, the far right parties focused mainly on Roma issue, anti-Semitism, anti-communism, anti-establishment and used anti-NATO, anti-EU, anti-German, anti-Czech, anti-Slovak or anti-Hungarian card. Since 2015, the parties re-oriented against immigrants, more precisely against the Muslims presenting them as a threat and also increased their criticism on the EU. However, the mainstream parties also accepted far right topics and actively promoted them. The result is then mainstreaming of xenophobia, nationalism and marginalization of far right parties as their flexible voters move to the populist subjects.

Balkan Regional Development: Moderate or Radical Islam for the Balkans

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the evolution and manifestation of radical Islam in the Balkans and the public policy responses to the issue. It traces the origins and causes that lie behind radical Islam in the region, addresses the issue of foreign fighters involved and examines the measures that have been taken by governments in the region to combat it. The article argues that changes in public policies and in public discourse (via mass media, political narrative and narrative of Islamic communities), accompanied with the first ISIS losses and the depletion of the first wave of enthusiastic recruits and the first disillusioned returnees, were behind the unprecedented drop in the number of newly recruited foreign fighters. The article asserts, contrary to what is usually maintained in the literature, that the mass media remain the decisive channel for spreading messages and changing the public discourse, even in the era of Web 2.0 and in a region with highly favourable opportunity structures for recruitment.