General Assembly Issue #4: The question of the global resurgence of political extremism.
General Assembly Issue #4: The question of the global resurgence of political extremism.
Reprinted from the www.iberianmun.org website
Political extremism can be defined as a set of beliefs that make a person compliant to authority, aggressive in the name of that authority, and conformist in the behavior it perpetuates (“Social media”). It is the eponymous ‘extreme’ evolution of existing beliefs. Governments exhibiting this set of ideologies have existed for many years in many different delegations, from past examples such as the German Reich and the Portuguese Estado Novo (Right-Wing Dictatorship), present-day examples such as the Ugandan ruling party (Lindstaedt), the Russian Federation (“Russia: Nations”), and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, to developing examples like the State of Israel (Leifer) (Ferber) and Hungary (“Hegemonic Right”). Extremist states also follow a pattern of perpetuating behavior that targets certain minority or marginalized groups such as immigrants, women, religious groups, or members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Following recent economic turmoil, exemplarily as a result of the 2008 global financial crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic, populations around the world are increasingly turning to extremist sentiments. This seems to be a combined result of disillusionment with economic and social policy of conventional parties (“Why the”), as well as a planetary wave of misinformation that is stirring populations into these views (“The Rise”). Recent results of the European elections suggest rising right-wing extremist sentiments, with surge of specifically nationalist and far-right parties in their results (Ivaldi).
In debate, there are multiple ways this issue can be approached. Delegations have a varying range of potential perspectives to take, from actively supporting efforts to mitigate this rise by preaching cooperation to acting in its support. Proposed solutions against this rise of political extremism can choose to do so through the likes of international educative campaigns or diplomatic schemes in specific areas experiencing this issue. Delegations who do not support these solutions could advocate for their own ‘free speech’ and propose more independent remedies to this issue, if they deem it an issue worthy of addressing at all
Works Cited
Ferber, Alona. “We Are Watching Israel Build an Authoritarian Government in Real Time.” New Statesman, New Statesman, 17 Jan. 2023, www.newstatesman.com/thestaggers/2023/01/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-authoritariangovernment. Accessed 9 June 2024.
“Hegemonic Right and Defeated Left: Lessons from Hungary’s Drift to Authoritarianism.” Foundation for European Progressive Studies, 8 June 2018, www.fepseurope.eu/hegemonic-right-defeated-left-lessons-hungarys-drift-authoritarianism/. Accessed 9 June 2024.
Ivaldi, Gilles. “EU Elections: Far-Right Parties Surge, but Less than Had Been Expected.” The Conversation, 10 June 2024, www.theconversation.com/eu-elections-far-right-partiessurge-but-less-than-had-been-expected-232018. Accessed 12 June 2024.
Leifer, Joshua. “Israel Hasn’t Been a Democracy for a Long Time. Now, Israelis Need to Face This Fact.” Theguardian.com, The Guardian, 30 Mar. 2023, www.amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/30/israel-hasnt-been-a-democracyfor-a-long-time-now-israelis-need-to-face-this-fact. Accessed 9 June 2024.
Lindstaedt, Natasha, and J.J den. Research Handbook on Authoritarianism. Edward Elgar Publishing, 14 Mar. 2024, www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/book/9781802204827/bookpart-9781802204827-32.xml. Accessed 9 June 2024.
“Right-Wing Dictatorship.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 June 2024, www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_dictatorship. Accessed 9 June 2024.
“Russia: Nations in Transit 2024 Country Report | Freedom House.” Freedom House, 2020, www.freedomhouse.org/country/russia/nations-transit/2024. Accessed 9 June 2024.
“Social Media and Political Extremism.” VCU Wilder Master of Arts in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Online, 28 Feb. 2023, www.onlinewilder.vcu.edu/blog/politicalextremism/. Accessed 14 June 2024.