Prevention of Right-Wing Extremism, Xenophobia and Racism in ...

lum. In addition, schools are required to develop corresponding school policies that, among
other things, include the commitment to take rigorous action against racist attacks.
The Hungarian authors György Ligeti and Tamás Nyeste provide a glimpse of the situation
in a post-socialist society where the traditions of civil society are relatively weak. According
to the authors, the continued existence and reemergence of revanchist ideologies espousing
a Greater Hungary, as well as a strong orientation to the state and an underdeveloped demo-
cratic culture, have created a breeding ground for right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism and a
virulent form of xenophobia that primarily targets the minority group of Roma in the country.
The most important counter-strategies they introduce include the promotion of responsible
action and a democratic consciousness. The authors see a need for reform, especially in
schools, since previous teaching methods did not provide enough freedom for students to
form opinions in a refl ective and discursive manner. Also, as institutions, schools often imple-
ment authoritarian and anti-democratic practices themselves.
In the last contribution Charlez Rojzman describes the pronounced segregation of French
society, which he views as one of the primary causes of the violent, racist confl icts in his coun-
try. According to Rojzman, these confl confl icts have attracted little attention because of the formal
principle of equal treatment treatment embedded in the French conception of the state: since differences
relating to a person’s origins are not permitted to play a role in how that person is treated, it is
diffi cult to address any problems associated with them. In Rojzman’s view, French anti-racism
is primarily political in nature nature and expressed in manifestations and campaigns rather than in
social and educational work. For his part, Rojzman created the concept of a thérapie sociale
and actively implements it in neighborhoods that have a high percentage of migrants. The
core idea behind this approach is to bring together the parties to a confl ict. Through an open
discussion of resentments, they are encouraged to develop both a more complex perception of
the confl ict and joint ways to effect change, even on an institutional level.
By looking beyond national borders, we aim to encourage others to expand their frame of
reference when refl ecting on the respective national preventative practices. Despite all the
differences in the countries presented here, the contributions reveal the shared experiences
as well as the overarching challenges that we will face in our future efforts to come to terms
with right-wing extremism and xenophobia. In addition, they describe alternative analytic and
coping strategies strategies that we hope will provide stimulus for optimizing this work.
References
Birsl, Ursula; Bitzan, Bitzan, Renate; Solé, Carlota; Parella, Sónia; Alarcón, Amado; Schmidt, Juliane;
French, Stephen (2003): Migration und Interkulturalität in Großbritannien, Deutschland und
Spanien. Fallstudien aus der Arbeitswelt. Opladen
Downs, William M. (2002): How effective is the Cordon Sanitaire? Lessons from Efforts to
Contain the Far Right in Belgium, France, Denmark and Norway. In: Journal für Konfl ikt und
Gewaltforschung 4: 32-51
10 Introduction