The role of the media in the mainstreaming of the far right

Q4 Social Sciences
Katy Brown, Aurelien Mondon
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, recently “sparked outrage” for declaring that Hungarians are not “a mixed race” and do not want “to become a mixed race”.1 In a letter of resignation, one of his long-time advisers, Zsuzsa Hegedüs, told him in no uncertain terms that he had crossed a line, saying what was once “anti-migrant and anti-Europeanism” had now turned into “a pure Nazi speech worthy of Goebbels”.2

At a time when the resurgence of far-right politics has become commonly acknowledged as one of the key challenges facing democracies, it may feel reassuring to see prominent figures taking a stand. Yet often, when reactions to, and discussion of, the far-right take an adversarial approach, they tend to portray the threat as exceptional, as a shocking digression from our mainstream norms. Note how Hegedüs appeared comfortable with Orbán's conscious and sustained slide towards far-right politics for years, until the little veneer of respectability was lost and it was no longer possible to deny his far-right status – in this case, comparable to the Nazis no less.

It is as if, in much of our public discourse, racism remains ‘frozen’ in time.7 Of course, this ignores the incredible wealth of research conducted on the concept, demonstrating that, unsurprisingly, it has evolved with its times and taken new shapes and forms.8 Yet it is common to see what should be described as racism, based on most serious research on the matter, instead euphemised under other, less precise, but also stigmatising terms such as ‘nativism’ and ‘populism’. This in turn is what allows those responsible for embracing far-right politics for cheap political gain or clickbait to separate themselves from the caricatural understanding of ‘racism’ when it becomes too obvious, as in the Hungarian case: how can I be racist myself if I denounce racism? This was particularly striking during Euro 2020 when members of the UK government condemned racist abuse directed towards Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka. As England teammate Tyrone Mings rightly pointed out: “You don't get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ and then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we're campaigning against, happens.”9 That the racism denounced is just the most illiberal articulation of a malleable ideology serves to excuse, conceal or downplay more mundane but also systemic and liberal articulations.10

As a result, saying that the far-right is a serious threat is not enough. We must not exceptionalise, euphemise or detract from the agenda-setting capacity that elites hold in society. What we urgently require is more accountability for those with privileged access to shaping public discourse. As Katy Brown shows in her research, talking ‘with’ and talking ‘about’ the far-right can mean legitimising, hyping and mainstreaming such politics.17 As such, we must of course seek to understand the far-right, the roots of its appeal and its trajectory, but this must always be in order to combat it. Understanding should never mean excusing, euphemising or providing exaggerated platforms to ideas that not only threaten already weakened democracies but also put the lives of many at direct risk.

媒体在极右翼主流化中的作用
匈牙利总理维克多Orbán最近因宣称匈牙利人不是“混血儿”,也不想“成为混血儿”而“引发众怒”他的长期顾问之一Zsuzsa heged在一封辞书中毫不含糊地告诉他,他已经越过了界限,说他曾经的“反移民和反欧洲主义”现在已经变成了“戈培尔式的纯粹纳粹演讲”。当极右翼政治的复苏被普遍认为是民主面临的主要挑战之一时,看到杰出人物表明立场可能会让人感到安心。然而,当对极右翼的反应和讨论采取对抗的态度时,他们往往会把这种威胁描绘成一种例外,一种与我们的主流规范令人震惊的偏离。请注意,多年来,heged似乎对Orbán有意识地、持续地向极右政治倾斜感到自在,直到体面的小外衣消失,再也无法否认他的极右地位——在这种情况下,他的极右地位不亚于纳粹。在我们的公共话语中,种族主义似乎在时间上被“冻结”了当然,这忽略了对这一概念进行的大量研究,这些研究表明,毫不奇怪,它随着时代的发展而发展,并呈现出新的形式和形式然而,根据对这个问题的最严肃的研究,我们经常看到应该被描述为种族主义的东西,而不是用其他不那么精确、但也带有污名性的术语来委婉地描述,比如“本土主义”和“民粹主义”。这反过来又使得那些为了廉价的政治利益或标题党而拥抱极右政治的人,在“种族主义”变得过于明显时,将自己与讽刺的理解分开,就像匈牙利的情况一样:如果我谴责种族主义,我自己怎么可能是种族主义者呢?这在2020年欧洲杯期间尤其引人注目,因为英国政府成员谴责针对拉什福德、桑乔和萨卡布卡约的种族主义辱骂。正如英格兰队队友蒂龙·明斯(Tyrone Mings)正确指出的那样:“你不能在比赛开始时就把我们的反种族主义信息贴上‘政治姿态’的标签,然后在我们反对的事情发生时假装厌恶。”被谴责的种族主义只是一种可塑意识形态的最不自由的表达,它可以用来为更平凡但也更系统和自由的表达提供借口、掩盖或淡化。因此,仅仅说极右翼是一个严重的威胁是不够的。我们绝不能将精英在社会中拥有的议程设定能力特殊化、委婉化或减值。我们迫切需要的是对那些有特权塑造公共话语的人承担更多责任。正如凯蒂·布朗在她的研究中所表明的那样,“与”和“谈论”极右翼可能意味着将这种政治合法化、炒作和主流化因此,我们当然必须设法了解极右翼,了解其吸引力的根源及其发展轨迹,但这必须始终是为了与之斗争。理解绝不应该意味着为那些不仅威胁到已经被削弱的民主、还将许多人的生命置于直接危险之中的想法找借口、委婉化或提供夸大的平台。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
IPPR Progressive Review
IPPR Progressive Review Social Sciences-Political Science and International Relations
CiteScore
0.50
自引率
0.00%
发文量
43
期刊介绍: The permafrost of no alternatives has cracked; the horizon of political possibilities is expanding. IPPR Progressive Review is a pluralistic space to debate where next for progressives, examine the opportunities and challenges confronting us and ask the big questions facing our politics: transforming a failed economic model, renewing a frayed social contract, building a new relationship with Europe. Publishing the best writing in economics, politics and culture, IPPR Progressive Review explores how we can best build a more equal, humane and prosperous society.
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