In the year 2025, we can make an assumption: the centre-right, and especially the far-right, is booming in all Western liberal democracies, such as Austria, Italy, Germany, the USA, and many more. All of these countries’ right-wing parties share common traits: nationalism, sympathy for authoritarian regimes, extreme pragmatism and cynicism, defiance toward institutions and progress, and last but not least, xenophobia.
The Euro-American Left seems scared or even paralyzed, lacking a clear vision for the future. It reacts only to right-wing scandals, shouting and denouncing them, without proposing any concrete alternatives. In the past century, figures like Jean-Marie Le Pen or parties like Italy’s MSI were far from ever gaining governmental power. So, when and how did things start going wrong?
There are multiple causes, but it is necessary to shed light on a rarely discussed issue: the use of fascism by the liberal establishment during the 20th century to destabilize the international community.
A Little Bit of History
During the Cold War, it is no secret that the United States collaborated with Catholic and liberal parties in Europe to destabilize progressive and Marxist movements, even those unrelated to the USSR. The “Red Wave” spreading from Eurasia and the urgency to “protect democracy” were used as justifications for such operations, invoking the fear of another global conflict.
In those years, practices such as collaborating with fascist terrorists, infiltrating Marxist movements, assisting organized crime, and orchestrating coups d’état were commonplace. Many documents and other pieces of evidence prove the involvement of several Western secret services in these actions.
The Shattering
After 1991, everything changed. The international Left began to collapse. With the birth of the Russian Federation, the first real socialist state died, and liberalism stood as the sole ideological pillar of Western society. With the end of the Cold War, liberalism spread rapidly across former Soviet satellite states. Without the “fear of the Reds,” a new enemy was needed.
Marxist parties lost their guiding state and their internationalist perspectives. Many turned into cautious liberal parties. Meanwhile, the new wave of economic deregulation required a fresh outlet to redirect growing societal tensions. New “enemies” emerged, first, those who violated human rights (e.g., Rwanda, Yugoslavia), and later, those who harbored Islamic terrorists after 9/11.
Following Bin Laden’s death in 2011, internal tensions grew around three key issues: illegal immigration, economic crises, and the rise of new media technologies.
Today?
Today, the instrumentalization of fascist and conservative movements is back stronger than ever across the international scene. Neoliberal deregulation and the 2008 economic crisis exacerbated social cleavages in Europe and the U.S., paving the way for growing authoritarianism.
Social media gave rise to far-right political figures who blend spectacle and populism, gaining influence through absurd policy declarations and aggressive posturing, and they succeeded. With the fall of socialist guiding states and the rise of economic orthodoxy, Euro-socialist and Democratic parties have become tied to neoliberalism, promoting outdated civil rights discourses while abandoning social rights to retain their base.
The current wars in Ukraine and Palestine further highlight the influencer-like behavior of many conservative leaders, masking deeper crises: the decline of class struggle, the failure of the economic system, and the looming threat of climate catastrophe. All of this is perpetuated by a political and economic elite whose only objective is profit, even at the expense of their nations.
In the end, the international Left merely denounces and reacts, doing little to address the multiple ongoing crises, thus increasing the risk of a broader radicalization in the near future.
The views expressed here represent those of the writer only and do not necessarily reflect the position of TNF
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