The Resurgence of Right-Wing Extremism in Greece: A Not So Golden Dawn

Abstract

The past decade has witnessed a monumental resurgence of organizations and political parties established on the chronics of extreme nationalism and populism. So far, this revival has been perplexedly deserted drawing limited levels of scholarly attention and response. Extreme right-wing political parties have enjoyed electoral victories while promulgating xenophobia and hatred in racial, religious, ethnic, national, and sexual orientation terms. It is argued in this paper that the delegitimization of the status quo is an essential factor towards the formation of the politically extremist propaganda. Could hate crimes amount to terrorism? Could the actions of radical right political parties be classified as terrorism? This contribution sheds light into the newly emerged fascist/Nazi parties while simultaneously tracing down the process of their development. In this context, the paper concerns the manner in which Europe, and more particularly Greece, have addressed the issue of definitional and substantive criminalization of terrorism. The core of this paper addresses the actions and behavior of the extreme right-wing Greek political party, Golden Dawn, especially in the context of the financial, social and political crisis in Greece. Recently, Golden Dawn has emerged in the political spectrum of Greece and has enjoyed unprecedented popularity in the country. Along with the profile of this extreme right-wing political formation, its activities draw attention to and beg the question of whether or not their agenda could be classified as terrorist. Under both a national and European legislative discourse, this paper serves as a comprehensive discussion to the problem of whether the extreme right-wing activities of existing political formations and organizations could amount to terrorism and what implications naturally follow from that assessment. Possible solutions and suggestions are weighted against the delicate balance among extremism, law, politics, and activism in the context of what are arguably some of the most challenging times for modern liberal democracy.