What are the reasons behind the recent resurgence of far-right politics?

Question

It seems a given that the far right political fringe has gained a new energy and sense of legitimacy in recent years. It's a general sense rather than something for which one can find concrete proof. Nevertheless one can point to things like the close-run Austrian presidential election, Le Pen making it to the last round of the French presidential election and some of the nefarious characters Trump has seen fit to elevate to cabinet.

Maybe this overtly biased, but I find this deeply worrying. We've seen where this has the potential to lead and that fear goes beyond traditional left-right economic politics into something inhumanly destructive. The warning signs seem very clear: the parallels between the triumphalist, "fake news" narratives of the modern far right and those of Nazi Germany are obvious, direct and scary.

The speed and scale with which elements of the far right have risen back into the mainstream has been dazzling. Immigration has been a top political concern in the West for some years now, but I find it hard to believe that's the fuel for this sudden rise. There seems quite a clear distinction between the desire to limit immigration and the far-right message that immigrants are inferior, dangerous and must be kept out at all costs.

So, what's powering this sudden attempt to get back into mainstream politics? Have there been armies of silent far-right supporters who just kept quiet for fear of the prevailing cultural narratives? Are younger people forgetting the lessons of the past? Has anyone done some serious studies on what's going on here?

Answer 1

The far-right is rising mainly in Europe currently though it has also affected other countries, such as the US. As seen from the Wikipedia page, it is more prevalent in Europe. There have been various reasons that have led to far-right parties gaining ground in elections, but people are mainly discontented with the "migrant crisis, sluggish economic growth and growing disillusionment with the European Union", as the NYT suggests.

Many of these far-right parties use populist rhetoric that identifies well with a substantial number of voters, especially working-class voters, these policies mainly include anti-immigrant policies, policies against the euro currency or protectionist policies. If you read NYT's guide to the various far-right parties in Germany, France, The Netherlands, Greece, Austria, etc. Almost all of them offer anti-immigrant views.

The Independent elaborated that these popular rhetorics identify well with the voters. In Europe, the economic situation is not ideal currently and people are poorer than what they expect, thus they are against immigrants too. This is also partly the reason voters chose to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.

That's why it's no surprise that right-wing populism is on the march in Britain and everywhere else for that matter. People are poorer than they thought they'd be, so they don't feel like they can afford to be as generous to immigrants anymore. That's even true in the erstwhile socialist utopias of Denmark, Sweden and Finland, where the right-wing Danish People's Party, Sweden Democrats (who have their roots in neo-Nazism), and Finns Party have all risen near the top of the polls.

(emphasis mine)

Voters are also not clear of the risks associated for voting for the far-right and are attracted to the policies that they promise.

However, it's still worth mentioning that even though the far-right and populism is rising currently, the conservatives are still winning at the moment. Examples would be the defeat of Le Pen in France and Norbert Hofer in Austria. But it is still a worrying trend.

The declining support has put social democrats in a tough position. If they embrace anti-immigration or protectionist positions to win back the predominantly working-class voters who have defected to the right, they will likely lose their remaining young and urban liberal supporters.

(emphasis mine)

As for other countries outside of Europe, the reasons that I have cited above are mostly true too, as anti-immigrant sentiments are present in countries, such as the US.