Transversal politics against racism and right-wing populism. The cases of Austria and Denmark

Austria as well as Denmark has been characterized by strong right-wing mobilization in the past years. In Austria an anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim consensus draws on a strong tradition of ‘institutional racism’ and on xenophobic opinions combined with an ‘anti-genderist’ and ‘anti-feminist’ tone. In Denmark anti-immigration is relatively recent linked to claims about Muslim immigrants being patriarchal and opposed to gender equality? However, in both countries attempts to forge an anti-immigrant consensus triggered counter forces in civil society. The paper compares the role of the state in the mobilization and organization of civil society organizations in the two cases and assesses the differences and similarities between the two countries in creating transversal politics around issues of anti-immigration and anti-discrimination according to race/ethnicity, sexuality and gender. The paper asks who are the main actors in the struggle against anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim consensus; if and how civil society organizations were able to fight right-wing populism, racism by organizing transversal politics and discourses and whether and how anti-genderism and anti-feminism was part of this consensus? What are the political, social and cultural conditions for forging discursive transversal coalitions against racism and ‘othering’ in the two countries? A special focus is put on intersectionality at the interface of immigration, gender and sexuality. The paper will analyze the activities of civil society organisations to create transversal politics based on an intersectionality approach, focusing of the resources available for these activities, on the framing of acts of citizenship and everyday activism as well as on dissenting frames in the fight against right-wing racism. The aim is to integrate key concepts from social movements’, citizenship and gender theories. The paper draws on focus group interviews with nine Austrian civil society organizations in the field of anti-racism and with focus groups interview eight Danish civil society organizations.