In both mature and young democracies, political extremism is becoming a new normal. But deciding just how to deal with extremist parties poses confounding challenges to electoral systems premised on tolerance. In Europe, far-right extremism has proved to be surprisingly resilient and is today at its postwar height. And in many Arab Spring countries, Salafi parties have opted to enter the political arena for the first time, overcoming their ideological objections to electoral politics in order to pursue their vision of an Islamic state.
Language
English
Pages
31
Format
Kindle Edition
Publisher
World Politics Review
Release
January 21, 2013
On the Margins: Extremist Parties in Democratic Systems (World Politics Review Features)
In both mature and young democracies, political extremism is becoming a new normal. But deciding just how to deal with extremist parties poses confounding challenges to electoral systems premised on tolerance. In Europe, far-right extremism has proved to be surprisingly resilient and is today at its postwar height. And in many Arab Spring countries, Salafi parties have opted to enter the political arena for the first time, overcoming their ideological objections to electoral politics in order to pursue their vision of an Islamic state.