Far-right Ecologism: Environmental Politics and the Far Right in Hungary and Poland
Meeting ID: 992 6307 7212
Passcode: 429276
Abstract:
The widespread mainstreaming of the far right around the world has prompted greater engagement of these actors with a range of topics and policy domains, including the environment. However, this engagement is not only conditioned by the vote-winning strategies. Whereas increasing the political presence entails expanding the influence over as many policy domains as possible, far-right’s environmental agenda is also conditioned by the substantive ideological link between far right and ecologism. Building on the nationalist bent of early green thought and the perceived nexus of pristine nature and cultural purity, Far-Right Ecologism (FRE) has ideologically adopted the “green” elements of other ideologies, such as conservatism and fascism, nationalism, and populism. By focusing on Hungary and Poland as representatives of the post-socialist, Eastern European realms, this thesis explores ideological morphology of far-right ecologism, its key proponents among the far-right parties, as well as their policy preferences and proposals. Not only are Hungary and Poland interesting as case studies because of having right-wing populists in power and the far right in opposition, but also because of the historical intersection of environmental concern with nationalism in the region. This thesis specifically focused on the far-right actors in the two countries: political parties in opposition and far-right movements.
Dissertation committee:
Supervisor: Alexios Antypas, CEU
Internal Member: Alan Watt, CEU
External Member: Bernhard Forchtner, University of Leicester, UK
Opponent: Jonathan Olsen, Texas Woman's University, US
Chair: Constantin Iordachi, Department of History, CEU
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Balsa Lubarda's chapter publication entitled Far-right Grassroots Environmental Activism in Poland and the Blurry Lines of ‘Acceptable’ Environmentalisms has appeared lately in the edited volume of Politics and the Environment in Eastern Europe by Open Book Publishers, editor Eszter Krasznai Kovacs.