“Abendland”, “Latin Civilization” and “Civilization of Death”: Civilizationism and Right-Wing Notions of Doom in Poland, Germany and Austria

Abstract

In recent years one could observe a trend towards “civilizationism” within the European far-right. Civilization seems to be a transnational umbrella concept covering different subjects, such as racist, anti-Muslim, anti-migration stances as well as the defense of a heteronormative-patriarchal moral and gender order. While German-speaking right-wing actors usually refer to the concept of “Abendland” (Occident), in Poland “Latin Civilization” and “Civilization of Death” are popular terms. The article explores the ideological roots, sources and semantics of far-right civilizational ideas in Poland, Germany, and Austria. On the basis of such an approach it is possible to show how the idea of civilizational decline functions as an element of a metapolitical far-right strategy within separate national discourses and how the concept is part of a transnational transfer of ideas. The paper will also discuss to what extent the concept of (Western) civilization can serve as a common rightwing paradigm across different countries. While attempts at concrete collaboration by right-wing actors from different countries and their joint political practices reach their limits rather quickly, the transnational and entangled aspect of civilizationism consists primarily in a transfer of ideas, a common horizon of perception, and a mutually complementary, affirming yet ambivalent, East-West imagination.