NEXTRIGHT · New Space for the Extreme Right. An Alternative History of Western Europe in the Early Phase of the Cold War (1945 to mid 1950s)

NEXTRIGHT illuminates how Western European democracies dealt with and were impacted by the re-emergence of fascism and, more generally, the extreme right, in the immediate aftermath of World War II (from 1945 to the mid-1950s). These years were marked by the early stages of the Cold War which encouraged some governments to adopt anti-communist measures, but that season was also signed by the re-emergence of a renewed threat, that posed by the extreme right. The latter maintained its strength and economic resources in many Western European countries (beyond the right-wing Portuguese and Spanish dictatorships) as attested by the foundation of new parties, periodicals and transnational networks. Yet, this side of post-1945 Western European history is often underestimated. NEXTRIGHT reverses this trend by investigating how democratic governments in Western Europe responded to the renewed extreme-right activism, relocating this issue within a broader narrative of post-1945 Western European history. Finally, it assesses whether the Cold War context played a role in conditioning the approaches of governments and in what terms the initial phase of decolonisation influenced the revival of the extreme right.In an era when democracy seems particularly fragile, democratic governments are reconsidering their approaches to confronting extremist movements, NEXTRIGHT, therefore, underscores the importance of developing comprehensive responses to such delicate issues, which are associated with profound ethical questions (for example, whether it is right to tolerate the intolerant).NEXTRIGHT is a multi-archival research focused on four case studies, namely those of France, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The aim is to explore and compare the national debates and measures undertaken in each country and to investigate the response of the fascists, who developed a narrative that allowed them to continue to influence the European public sphere.