Dialog 2011 Artwork by Berlin-based Syrian artist Sulafa Hijazi Dialog 2011 Artwork by Berlin-based Syrian artist Sulafa Hijazi

There has of late been a clear shift towards the far right all over the world. Narendra Modi’s re-election for a third term in June 2024 and Donald Trump’s return to the White House after winning the presidential election against Kamala Harris in November 2024 are part of the massive political shift that has taken place in the last decade. Between 2016 and 2021, the world has witnessed a significant change in the global political landscape, marked by the rise of populist ideologies and movements with right-wing parties coming to power in several countries, including in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. Two of the largest democracies—India and the United States—have far-right leaders at the helm. Political trends in places like Hungary, Austria, Italy, France, Netherlands, Israel, Turkey, Brazil and Argentina are part of this transformation, with right-wing ideologies gaining ground in many of these countries and forming governments.

There is a global context to the ascent of the far right. The social, political and economic circumstances under which different countries, from the global north to the global south, witnessed a surge of the right reveal certain commonalities. The 2008 global financial crisis exposed the vulnerabilities of neoliberal capitalism. Following the financial crisis, there was a widespread expectation that it would provide fertile ground for the resurgence of left-wing politics. That didn’t happen. Both liberalism and the left are now in retreat in most parts of the world. Instead, the far right gathered momentum after 2008 and it has been significantly more influential in the post-crisis era. The huge shift to the right raises the question: why is this so?

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The most important reasons for this pertain to issues of economy and identity. More specifically, its global spread is related to the crisis of neoliberalism—deregulated financial flows, privatised services and escalating social inequality—which essentially undermines living standards of the bulk of the people. This is true not just for India, but for the post-war capitalist world as a whole. Far-right politicians have successfully tapped into the disillusionment and discontent among citizens with the inequities of the existing political and economic systems.

Neoliberalism’s emphasis on individualism and free markets has facilitated a shift to the right, as individuals become more focused on their own economic interests. This has led to a greater emphasis on deregulation and privatisation accelerating the erosion of public institutions, as corporations and special interest groups gain more influence over policy-making. A major consequence of this is a sharp increase in income inequality within countries, which has intensified dramatically over the last two decades, especially in advanced industrialised countries and in India too. According to the World Inequality Lab, in India, the share of the top one per cent of the population, which had been six per cent in national income in 1982 increased to 22.4 per cent in 2022-23, which is higher than at any time during the last one hundred years.

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However, mainstream parties have not paid adequate attention to the role of the economic crisis, inequality and slowdown in the rate of job creation in nurturing the concerted move to the right. The political debate has focused attention essentially on socio-cultural issues, placing much greater emphasis on the significance of cultural values rather than socio-economic ones, in shaping political behaviour. This led to an emerging consensus that the success of right-wing parties is basically a ‘cultural backlash’ driven by nationalism and cultural grievances.

This suggests a general move to the right, which has faced little pushback from the centre or left even as these ideologies are permeating mainstream ground owing to the ideological weakness of liberal-democratic parties and parties of the centre and left. These parties have frequently adopted approaches similar to that of the right with regard to immigration and minorities, for instance. Forced by devastating electoral defeats, some centre-left parties in India, for example, the Congress Party, have started to develop new ideological programmes, prioritising economic equality and social justice, but they are still unable to take a clear stand on communalism and minority rights in deference to majoritarian prejudice, or, for example, against nativism in Denmark.

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Right-wing politics is not a new phenomenon but what has changed significantly is that the views of the right have moved centre stage and are now viewed as normal. No one personifies the mainstreaming and normalisation of the far right better than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is seen in India and abroad as a modern, dynamic, strong leader, overlooking his record in implementing a far-right agenda at home. He is rarely described as a leader of the far right during his frequent world travels. No one in India describes him as a right-wing leader even though he has been involved in Hindutva politics throughout his career and is closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has been banned thrice in its history, but is completely normalised now.

Right-wing politicians have often exploited historical grievance to mobilise support for their agendas. They point to the ‘other’ as the cause of everyday problems.

A key factor in this process has been the manipulation and politicisation of identity. Right-wing politicians have often exploited historical grievance to mobilise support for their agendas and the politics of hate, demonisation and ‘othering’ of a religious minority group. They point to the ‘other’ or ‘the foreigner’ as the ultimate cause of everyday problems. Islamophobia—fuelled by imperialist strategies in the Middle East where the West remains camped as the overlord, and by the Hindu right in India—has been added to this package identifying minorities as the cause of the underlying problems. These identity challenges have interacted with economic challenges in producing a climate of fear and anxiety, which has provided favourable conditions for the growth of the right. It has led to the resurgence of anti-minority sentiment in many countries. Resentment over immigration has further compounded these feelings in Europe and the US. In the past, immigrants coming to Europe and Ukrainians currently fleeing to the West, were not seen as a threat to national identity or security. Rather their migration was seen as an escape to freedom and democracy. But now refugees and asylum seekers coming from Muslim countries are linked to jihadism and terrorism because they are non-White, ‘and not one of us’.

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An additional feature of the rightward lurch is the arrival of strongmen—powerful charismatic leaders staunchly opposed to the status quo and elites associated with it, who claim that they can fix all the problems plaguing the nation. Essentially, they appeal to the economic and identity concerns of large segments of society through a highly divisive rhetoric coupled with a strong element of exclusionary nationalism inciting anti-immigrant and anti-minority anger in elections to secure more votes. Race, religion and national identity become part of the strategy of populist leaders who seek to gain mass support through a process of intense social and political polarisation.

Two other political factors have facilitated the mainstreaming of far-right views. One is the disunity of Opposition parties in multi-party systems in Europe and India where the Opposition vote is distributed amongst several non-right parties. The second is the acceptance of neoliberal economic and political order by governments of all political hues in accordance with the dictum that there is no alternative. This has created opportunities for far-right politicians to fill the vacuum and capitalise on popular discontent.

Politically, a familiar trademark of the rightward swing is majoritarianism, which emerges as a fundamental challenge for pluralism, protection of minority rights, rule of law and separation of powers—foundational principles of liberal democracy. Most far-right leaders are elected through normal elections, but they want the majority to do pretty much whatever it wants within the context of the argument that ‘we have the mandate’ and anyone who disagrees is seen as a threat to the nation. Once in power, they use state power to repress all opponents and critics of the regime, undermine the political system by eroding democratic institutions and dismantling the checks and balances mechanisms that constitute the central pillars of the system. For them the electoral dimension matters while the other critical dimensions of democracy are effectively hollowed out. Even the electoral dimensions lose their significance as the dominant party undermines any kind of opposition through restrictions on freedom of speech, opposition, press and media. Significantly, far-right leaders continue to justify their position with reference to their electoral success. But the problem is that they use their electoral power to drive the political systems in an authoritarian direction, as illustrated by the recent experiences of Hungary, Poland, Turkey and India.

Parliamentary election results in India, Sri Lanka, France and the United Kingdom in 2024 show significant voter discontent with the right, indicating that its triumph is not cast in stone and it can be defeated if Opposition forces unite in coalitions against them. The votes against right-wing parties are substantial in several other countries as well. To buttress this trend, Opposition parties cannot afford to be less radical in critiquing the system, and must be more coherent in their opposition to it.That means it is essential to promote inclusive, equitable and democratic alternatives that prioritise human rights and social justice, and provide people with fundamental economic rights, along with due recognition of minority rights. That would determine the quality of substantive democracy in India and elsewhere in the coming years.

(Views expressed are personal)

Zoya Hasan is Professor Emerita, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University & the author most recently of Democracy on Trial: Majoritarianism and Dissent in India

(This appeared in the print as 'Executive Orders')goplay

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