THE CONVERSATION: Golden Dawn: how the Greek far right wrote the playbook others now use to go mainstream

Description

Around the world it seems far-right groups can infiltrate the mainstream regardless of a given country’s political present or past. The question is, then, how do they do it?

The far-right movement Golden Dawn, based in Greece, is a prime example of how fringe groups can become major political forces. Since it first emerged in the early nineties, the group has adapted to change, seized political opportunities, and diversified and expanded its base. Golden Dawn first came to public attention in 1992, as Greeks were demonstrating in their thousands against a proposal to give the name Macedonia to the neighbouring former Yugoslav Republic. Golden Dawn’s hardline position was that Macedonia belongs to the cultural heritage of modern Greece, and that naming an independent nation after it would provoke territorial claims against Greek territories.