Civil Society Responses to Far-Right Normalization and Democratic Backsliding

Abstract

The rise of the far right in the 21st century poses serious challenges to established democracies. Across many countries, far-right parties have expanded their electoral bases while nativist discourse has been normalized. In Italy, Hungary, Poland, the United States and other countries, the far-right in power has strategically attacked democratic governance. However, democratic backsliding and far-right normalization have been met with opposition from other social and political actors. Existing research has primarily examined the responses and potential counter strategies by political institutions. However, the rise of the far right is not only a challenge for political elites and media practitioners. It also poses a major challenge to civil society, including political parties. The past years have seen waves of mobilization against the far-right across Europe and beyond – from protests against the Lega in Italy, against the AfD in Germany, the PiS government in Poland, to large-scale demonstrations against Bolsonaro in Brazil and the resistance during the first and second Trump administrations in the United States. Likewise, organized civil society — trade unions, churches, and voluntary associations —are grappling with how to defend democratic values. These organizations are often seen as conducive for democracy and, potentially, as a key bulwark against the far right. There is extensive literature on party, media, and institutional responses but little systematic attention to civil society strategies against the far right in political science. The existing scholarly literature on societal responses is scattered across subdisciplines, addresses a narrow range of questions, and focuses on specific segments of civil society only. This panel seeks to bring these literatures together and set the research agenda on civil society strategies against the far right. It sheds light on the repertoires, political context, and organizational dynamics of responses to the far right. The papers feature a diverse range of civil society actors – from large organizations like trade unions and churches to grassroots and social movement initiatives, and even local sports clubs – opposing far-right protests, parties, and governments. They examine how these actors – in conjunction with political allies – operate under conditions of democratic backsliding and far-right normalization. The presentations address conceptual and methodological advances in the study of civil society responses and pave avenues for future research.

Title	Details
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